Nemesis, the Rogue Hunter
by JustAnotherAuthor64
Summary: After losing everything to the war between the Schnees and the White Fang, a lone warrior stands ready to take his long waited revenge. However, he has caught the attention of some powerful people due to a unique and dangerous Semblance and has now been caught in the midst of the war with the Grimm. Only time will determine who or what he will end up fighting for in this conflict.
1. Foreshadowing

**Author Note: Hello and welcome to the fanfic: The Path of Nemesis. This fanfic will be going following an OC character that I have created over a concept that I have had for a while. It's about the journey of a character that is a rogue element of the war between the fight between light and darkness in Remanent. About a person who's only desire is to see those who have brought him pain to get what has long been coming to them. If you like this and want to see more, please favorite and review accordingly. Enjoy the story.**

" _Two beings born of great hatred will arise during a time of great calamity. One will have the power to steal from man. One will have the power to steal from that which slays man. These two will hold the fate of all of Remnant on their shoulders."_

An old prophecy that has been foretold upon what would be the deciding factor when the dark would begin to return to the world. To anyone who has paid even the slightest amount of attention to current trends would know without a doubt that the dark has began to grow once more. From the increasing number of Grimm, to the many internal strifes with both humans and faunus that has continued to grow worsen over time. To many, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that the dark times were inbound, assuming of course, that they weren't here already. But for one mysterious cloaked figure that is currently standing on a rooftop of a warehouse within the kingdom of Vale, none of that mattered to him.

He is currently in an all black hooded trench coat with painted black combat boots and gauntlets both made from what could be guessed as the bone plates of Grimm. If you could see his face, all you would see is a white mask also from Grimm plates with menacing red eyes staring back at you. To him, all he cared about is that blood will be spilled tonight. He had gotten word that there was a big supply movement of the White Fang that came here earlier today and he was here to intercept it. Best case scenario, all of the White Fang members here are massacred and the warehouse and its contents are set alight, just like the others prior to this one.

This person managed to sneak into the warehouse via a window. So far, there hasn't been any problems. However, there was something that was odd about the place.

" _It's quiet. Too quiet. Not to mention, I can barely see here. Either this place is abandoned or this is a trap."_

Underneath the mask, the individual simply smiled gleefully at that prospect.

" _I hope they try again with an ambush. It will save me the trouble of finding them. Plus, it will further sink the message of powerlessness once the message makes its way back to Adam and with any luck, it will convince him to come out of hiding."_

He eventually managed to make his way towards the center of the darkened warehouse where light was coming through one of the windows. As soon as he stepped within the light…

Multiple spotlights shone right where he was standing. Upon the lights being turned on, there were 25 White Fang members now surrounding him. 15 of them were armed with assault rifles and other guns on the floor above him both in front of him and behind him, the rest were armed with a large variety of melee weapons creating a circle around him. Leading the group was a female fox faunus just above him, complete with a red tail and ears. She was in standard White Fang attire as well. The major difference was that she had a unique mask that was standard for those who were high ranking in the White Fang. She had a mask that covered her entire face and the area where the slits which her eyes would see from were painted black.

"Like a rat caught in a trap. I had a feeling that you would show up." She said confidently. "The self-proclaimed Grimm Reaper, so easily walking into an ambush. I'm surprised so many resources have been wasted to deal with the likes of you."

"Hey. I'm not the one who came up with the name. Those who have witnessed the aftermath of my work are the ones who decided to call me that." The cloaked man spoke out in an annoyed tone.

"But I feel like I should thank you and your subordinates. Having you all gathered here at once makes my job of slaughtering all of you that much easier. To show my appreciation, I shall grant all of you a swift death."

In response to the cloaked man's snarky reply she just simply said two words:

"Kill him."

As soon as those words left her mouth, the faunus above opened fire and the ones on the ground floor began to close in.

The cloaked man moved immediately towards the closest person within melee range. While he wasn't the fastest person around, it was enough to avoid getting shot. As soon as he within range, he unsheathed two weapons within his trench coat. They were a katana and a wakizashi that looked like they were also made from Grimm plates.

In one fluid motion, the cloaked man managed to unsheathe the blades and slashed at the closest White Fang member, bringing him to his knees, the cloaked man pivoted and brought down his blades to the back of the head of his target, with the blood splatter that followed verifying that he was now dead.

Before any of the White Fang members could react, the cloaked man had already jumped onto the floor where the White Fang members with guns were at. Despite them trying to put bullets into him, they looked like they were having little effect.

" _This person has an aura as well!? That's not good._ _He'll kill all of us at this rate._ _I have no choice but t_ _o use the secret weapon."_ The White Fang Officer thought as she fled from the bloodbath.

One by one, the White Fang members were being cut down. The cloaked man's fluid movements were almost like a dance, albeit instead of flowers and spotlights, blood and body parts were flying all over the place as he continued to mercilessly butcher everyone. After a minute or two had passed, everyone on the second floor was now dead and the Grimm Reaper had jumped down in order to finish off the ones still on the first floor.

Most of the surviving White Fang members were downright terrified of the cloaked man known as the Grimm Reaper. His trench coat was now covered in the blood of their fallen comrades and he easily cut them all down despite being severely outnumbered and outgunned. The message was clear to them. He was too much for them and he wasn't about to let them walk away peacefully.

One of the White Fang member's, overcome with fear, had dropped his weapon and began to run away, crying in terror. His comrades turned their heads as he attempted to hightail it out of the warehouse. Unfortunately for the fleeing faunus, he didn't get far. He got about 3 meters before he briefly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Unable to react, he simply fell to the floor and never got up again.

Everyone else saw that a throwing knife that was made of the same material as the Grimm Reaper's swords was thrown at the previously living faunus's head. Seeing as they were was no other way out of this situation, they attempted to surround him again to try and hit him from multiple angles. Sadly for the White Fang, the Grimm Reaper anticipated this and quickly made his was towards the closest faunus and cut him clean in a diagonal half. The female faunus next to him tried to slash the Grimm Reaper with her shortsword, but before she could bring down the blade, her arm holding the weapon was was cut clean off by the katana precisely at the brachial artery point. With the unexpected attack and the heavy blood loss due to cutting of a major artery, the faunus, understandably, quickly went into shock and with a swift kick to the stomach from the Grimm Reaper, she stayed down. The remaining 7 attempted to charge the Grimm Reaper all at once to hopefully hit him. However, the effort was in vain as the rest of the faunus meet the same gruesome end as their comrades.

With the last White Fang member dealt with, the Grimm Reaper began to observe the warehouse that he was in. With the spotlights on, he could now see around him. The warehouse itself looked like the usual when it came to most of the items, from weapons to dust. The only obvious distinction is that their was massive crate that was well beyond the standard size. It had to have been at least 6 meters tall and about 4 meters wide.

" _This must be the what the White Fang was getting so riled up about. I'll need to investigate it, but first, where the hell is that lieutenant?"_

He did not see the lieutenant who was leading this group of the White Fang not even once ever since she declared the order to kill him. Sure, she saw plenty of corpses he madeand the blood and gore that came with it. But no sign of the lieutenant anywhere, alive or otherwise.

While he was still deciding on his next move, a noise started to come from the giant crate. It sounded like a machine of some kind was activating. Before the Grimm Reaper could react, the crate was busted apart and the battle mech inside it immediately charge forward and punched the Grimm Reaper. He was sent flying across the warehouse and was now bouncing off the floor. Fortunately for him, he was able to recover from that and land on his own feet. Regardless, that attack still hurt and now he had a battle mech to deal with.

"Surprised?" a voice came from. It was the lieutenant's.

"After seeing that you had your aura unlocked, I suspected that the faunus group that I was in charge of wouldn't be enough. So, I decided to make use of this little gift, the Paladin Battlesuit. Not that it will matter to you since you die right now!" The lieutenant declared.

 _"Damn! That surprise attack, in conjunction with the previous bullets that hit me, took down roughly a quarter of my aura's strength. I'll need to be more cautious."_

The Paladin charged forward once more to attempt to strike the Grimm Reaper. Anticipating the move this time, he was better prepared and managed to dodge out of the way of its punch. A swift follow up punch was now incoming, but he was able to jump out of the way just in time. However, that maneuver left him wide open for the next attack. A missile from the Paladin's back was launched at him. With no means to dodge the attack, the Grimm Reaper held out his arms in a cross position to better take the hit. Despite that, it was enough to blow him back, but at least he was able to land on his feet this time.

The Paladin had now gotten its machine guns out and had began to open fire. Moving hastily, he began to circle around the paladin, moving out of the way of the incoming bullets. He was only just able to avoid the bullets, with them missing his body by mere millimeters.

 _"Most likely, that battlesuit is using an auto-targeting system. As long as I stay on the move and predict where the bullets will land, I should be able to avoid them. But I can't keep this up forever, I need to make an offensive move."_

The Grimm Reaper now started to close in on the Paladin, still dodging most of the gunfire and blocking the few that would have hit him.

 _"I see, he plans to get in close in order to attack me directly. Well, I'm not having any of that!"_

The Paladin prepared for another melee strike. The Grimm Reaper managed to move just to the right of the attack and jumped onto the side of the Paladin's arm. In response, the lieutenant attempted to grab the spot the Grimm Reaper was currently on with the Paladin's other arm, but he saw that coming and jumped from one arm side to the other and jumped again, having sheathed the wakizashi and and now holding another throwing knife.

 _"I wasn't able to get the exact angle necessary to get straight to the cockpit, but this at least gives me an angle to aim directly for the lieutenant."_

The Grimm Reaper quickly managed to toss the knife straight at the lieutenant, aiming for a lethal strike. The lieutenant only just managed to move her left arm just in time to avoid a fatal blow. Sadly for her, it meant she could no longer use the left Paladin's arm. Since he was still suspended in the air, the lieutenant used that window to grab the Grimm Reaper and used all of the Paladin's strength to slam him into the ground. The crater that was he was now in was a meter deep.

The Grimm Reaper managed to recover in the nick of time to be able to jump out of the crater and out of avoid another punch that would have further pummeled him into the ground. The lieutenant foresaw this and fired another missile. With him having only an instant to land and move to avoid getting caught in the blast, the Grimm Reaper had no choice but to quickly sidestep the attack. Unfortunately, he was open for another assault. The Paladin had now grabbed hold of him and this time, the lieutenant was planning to crush him.

"Agggghhhh!"

"That's right. I will now crush you! You will pay for your actions against me and the rest of the White Fang!" The lieutenant declared as she began to crush him using the Paladin's arm.

 _"Dammit it's no good. I can't shake her off and my aura is now at about half strength."_

He could feel his bones beginning to crack even with the protection his aura provided him, sure it helped him cushion blows pretty easily, but it wouldn't withstand an onslaught that would assault him from every angle.

 _"If she keeps his up, I'll be a goner for sure! I don't have a choice. I'll have to use my trump card!"_

The lieutenant smiled gleefully as she continued to crush the Grimm Reaper. She knew that it was only a matter of time before his aura would fail him and he would be dead. But then, she noticed that the grip she had on him was weakening.

"What!?" the lieutenant said.

The Grimm Reaper's aura was now visible and radiated a pure black color. His aura continued to darken as he was overpowering the Paladin Battlesuit.

"This is impossible!"

With one last push, the Grimm Reaper had managed to break free and was now in the air once and unlike the previous times, the Paladin Battlesuit was now wide open.

"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!"

In one strike, the titled Grimm Reaper had managed to cut off the Paladin's functioning arm clean off and before the lieutenant could have a chance to make a counterattack, he quickly move to make a horizontal slash at the mid section, successfully cutting the Paladin Battlesuit in two, again with one strike.

"This isn't possible." the lieutenant denied as struggled to get out of the now destroyed Paladin.

Unfortunately for her, she ran out of time. Her assailant was now standing just outside the cockpit, his red eyes now clearly visible and glistening with hatred. He punched his way through the glass and grabbed the defeated lieutenant and threw her out. With her injury now procuring a lot of blood loss and her Paladin now destroyed, she could only now cower in fear as the one who won against stood atop of her with his katana now pointed at her throat.

"Now that your army has been shattered and your mech destroyed, you will tell me everything that you know. About the White Fang and about the mech you brought here today." the Grimm Reaper commanded.

"L-Like hell I'll listen to you!" the lieutenant denied, trying to stay defiant despite her fears beginning to overtake her.

"We can do this one of two ways. You can tell me what you know right now and save me time and yourself a lot of pain. Or I can take you to a secluded area, put you through as much physical and psychological torture as possible and THEN you will tell me. Either way, the end result will be the same. Oh, and I suggest you decide quickly before my patience runs out." the Grimm Reaper said, delivering her his ultimatum.

Her pride now surrendered to her fear, she could only stare in terror as a smirk became visible from her attacker's face as she realized that she was, to put it simply, completely and utterly fucked.

* * *

 **A few days later...**

 _ **"This is VNN with breaking news. The Grimm Reaper has struck once again, this time within the City of Vale itself. An abandoned warehouse became the scene of a massacre as roughly around , at least 20 confirmed bodies of White Fang members was found, killed in the same brutal fashion that the Grimm Reaper is famous for. Additionally, just like the other incidents he's been involved with, they found larges amount of stolen dust and evidence that a large amount of it was removed from the scene."**_

 _ **"It sounds terrible Lisa, were there any survivors of this tragedy?"**_

 _ **"Unfortunately, no, Cyril. Not a single person made it out alive and the warehouse itself was already in flames by the time the police arrived on the scene just like many of his other crimes. However, there was one major note of interest. Apparently, there were remains of what appears to be a mech of some type within the warehouse and initial investigations that were made available suggest that the mech is of Altesian origins.**_

 _ **"Atlesian origins? Could Atlas be working alongside the Grimm Reaper or perhaps even the White Fang?"**_

 _ **"No one really knows for sure, Cyril, but one thing is for sure. People are curious and are demanding some answers."**_

 _ **"Thank you Lisa. We will continue with the news after this commercial break."**_

Within Vale''s commercial district, there were a few people having breakfast in a cafe called Dusk's Cafe. It was one of those smaller establishments that was well known by those who actively looked for it, but typically slipped under the radar when compared to the big names. There were quite a few people looking at the TV screen to watch the news report.

Among them was a 176 cm male who was currently wearing a grey sweat shirt and black jeans with matching shoes. He had clear, slightly tan skin with dark brown hair and eyes. As he was finishing up his cup of tea and breakfast sandwich, he beckoned the waitress.

 _"Perfect. With that little maneuver not only did I manage to learn a lot and resupply on materials, but I also got the attention of many of the big wigs in this city. It will only be a matter of time before one of them exposes themselves whether it would to lure me out or by an error."_

"Here is your check. Thank you dining at Dusk's Cafe Mr..." the waitress said as she handed him the guy's check.

"Nemesis." he replied. "My name is Nemesis."

* * *

 **Author Note: That's it for this pilot chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed and I will see you guys on the next part. Author Author signing off!**


	2. A Day in the Office

**Author Note: I don't really have anything to add this time other than enjoy the new chapter.  
**

 **Review Replies: Thank you. I do plan on having the main character go a tad bit of a different route that what is expected of usual routes involving retribution, so I do hope you stick around to find out.**

Nemesis gave the waitress the Lien and proceeded to walk out the door. After having his luxurious lunch, he decided to go ahead and return to his safe haven within the commercial district to continue working on a project of his. After a quick train ride, he managed to make his way towards one of the more rundown areas within the district. Most would avoid this area like the plague by most individuals due to its much higher crime rate when compared to the rest of Vale City. For Nemesis, the place he currently had was perfect for his needs. Cheap, secluded, most people are too apathetic to notice him, a lot of people also had hooded trench coats. Best of all, his home is very close to a sewer system that is used by a decent amount of folks as a means of both getting around the city and as a part of the underground world as well.

He had managed to make his way back home without any serious hitches. It was simply a small apartment that he had purchased with the money he got from collecting bounties and reselling the spare stolen Dust he collected. While it only had a bathroom, two rooms and a kitchen, it served his needs quite nicely. He immediately entered the room he used as a work shop and got to work on the finishing up the project he was working on before he left to go get breakfast at the Dusk Cafe.

It was a new weapon that he was working on. He had been engineering and designing it for quite some time and he finally managed to recently get the last materials necessary to complete it. He had decided to call it the Obsidian Chimera. In its current form it was two 46cm (18in) obsidian colored short swords that were bulky enough to for his fist to fit the base of blade. There isn't a pommel on the sword and the swords have a grey, cylinder grip. The swords had nearly 3cm (1 in) additional width so the swords themselves would have a little bit more of an impact than a sword of its typical length and when paired together, they could still decently hold their own against other swords and axes which are typically longer and weigh more. Normally swords of his length are typically used as backup weapons. But in this case, it's not necessary as this weapon had two transformation stages which help out.

The first one, which was completed, was that you can put the end of the swords' grips together to combine them and have the grips extend to create a sizable pole arm. Putting the pole arm and the 36cm (14in) blades together gets you about a 183cm (6ft) double edged staff. Not only does this add a little more versatility and reach, but this form can also add deal with groups of enemies quite nicely. If that wasn't enough, it can also function as a improvised spear. Granted, it isn't quite as long as standard spears and it's a bit awkward to handle, but it works and it will still easily out range most non pole arm weapons with ease.

The second, which he was trying to finish up right now, was that the swords' grips would have a button that would transform the weapon into a small compacted, gun that would attach itself to the gauntlets he made for specifically for the weapon. The swords would separate up to a few centimeters at the tip of the blade up to the center of the blade and the base of the blades would rearrange themselves to connect with gauntlets, effectively attaching the weapon to his arms and create some space for his hands to fit inside the weapons. Additionally, the grips would fold back into the swords' cross guards and the guards themselves could now be used as a handle to effectively grip the gun.

The gun is fueled by a crystallized version of Dust that functions more like a power source instead of the usual ammo that most people use. It instead uses Nemesis's own aura as a energy source. Of course, it would mean that his defenses do take a hit when he uses these weapons repeatedly, but in return, due to his auras immense strength, the guns are significantly more powerful than most firearms even by hunter standards.

Lastly, in all forms of the weapon, the blades also contain a secondary Dust power source that augments the power of the weapon's melee attacks. It changes elements based on the Dust used and just like the Dust in the gun mode, it also uses Nemesis's aura as its source of power.

With the last touches done, he decided to go ahead and put on the gauntlets to test out the weapons. Upon clicking the small buttons on the swords' guards, the weapons managed to successfully transform into their gun form. Upon pushing up on where the weapons' grips was pushed into, the weapons went back into their sword mode, both transformations taking about 1.5 seconds each to accomplish. Then he tested out the staff transformation and it also seemed to function without a hitch.

" _Perfect. The transfomations work exactly like I need them too. Now all I need to do is go ahead and put the gun mode to the test."_

Nemesis proceeded to check his Scroll to check for the tasks available via the mission boards. While mission boards are commonly used by Hunters and Huntresses, those who show that they are capable of holding their own in combat can apply for theses as well. The missions themselves are divided into ranks F to S in terms of difficulty. F to C tasks can be handled by nearly anyone who has some level of combat training. B and A ranks should only be attempted by those are hunters, in the later stages of hunter training or those who are at identical levels. S ranks, while very rare, if you are not amongst the best and not with a team, it's nothing short of a death wish to attempt theses missions. The missions were also divided further with the level of priority or immediacy needed to get the task done with low, medium, high and extreme levels respectvely.

He ran through the ones that could currently be done in Vale until he found one in particular that piqued his interest.

* * *

Perimeter Defense

Mission Rank B

Priority: High

Requester: Captain Rowland, Head of Vale's Agricultural Districts Perimeter Defenses

Grimm that is being lead by a Death Stalker has been attacking the city's southeastern walls recently and has been doing so with increasing numbers. We need assistance to hold of the Grimm once they come back to reinforce the defenses of the wall.

Reward: 10,000 Lien

Location for the job: Main Tower of the Agricultural District

* * *

 **"** _Hmm... so, I just need to deal with some Grimm_ _to buy time for defense fortification and I will get quite a bit of Lien for my troubles. The overall job has a pretty good payout for the difficulty. Guess I'm heading out to the Agricultural District."_

He grabbed a non hooded grey cloak, the Obsidian Chimera and a Grimm plate short sword which he hid on his back underneath his coat as a backup weapon and proceeded to walk out.

* * *

Location: Main Tower

"I'm glad you managed to make you way over here, Nemesis." Captain Rowland. "I was hoping to get another hunter or two, but I suppose you'll have to do. I hope you are capable of holding your own in a fight."

"I'll manage." Nemesis said, taking out Obsidian Chimera.

"Heads up, we got Grimm and lots of them!"

Making a dash for the city walls, there were 16Beowolves, 4 Alpha Beowolves, 10 large Boarbatusks, 4 Ursa Majors and the aforementioned Death Stalker.

Wasting no time, Nemesis transformed Obsidian Chimerainto its staff mode and jumped down from the tower and managed to land without a hitch. Then he proceeded to charge headlong into the oncoming grimm.

As he was running towards them, he managed to do a quick side step and sliced a beowolf in half horizontally. He quickly adjusted his weapon's grip and managed to slice in half a second beowolf that was coming in on the other side. The beowolves now tried to surround him, hoping to overwhelm him. The first one charged at him, but was quickly sidestepped and then decapitated. The same fate occured to the second that tried to attack him from behind. Nemesis took his weapon and proceeded to twirl this weapon over his headlike a baton, killing two more Beowolves would tried to attack him simultaneously.

A boarbatusk was quickly spindashing its way towards Nemesis. Adjusting his grip on Obsidian Chimera, he got the max length on it and as soon as the boarbatusk got within range, he did an underhand swing and sent the boarbatusk into the air. He quickly shifted the grip of his staff and stabbed in the head a beowolf that tried to attack him with his back turned. Two more boarbatusk now were heading his way. Nemesis quickly turned Obidisan Chimera back to his swords mode and transformed one of them into his gun mode. He ducked and managed to get stab yet another beowolf under its jaw, killing it instantly. With the gun, he managed to fire it, shooting what looked like a red laser and it went straight through the closest boarbatusk. He fired two more shots, the first hitting the second boarbatusk trying to charge him and the other finished off the other boarbatusk that was launched into the air.

An alpha beowolf managed to make its way towards Nemesis and just before it managed to slash at him, he managed to jump and land on its neck. The alpha wolf, now realizing where its target went made a brief attempt to remove Nemesis from its neck before the Obsidian Chimera

managed to make its way towards both of the beowolf's temples. He managed to jump off of it and land without another hitch. Another beowolf was heading making yet another attempt to kill Nemesis. However, a bullet went through the beowolf's head before it could get within striking distance. A marksman from the wall had successfully put a sniper round into it. Another beowolf was put down with another sniper round coming from the tower as well. Sensing that Nemesis wasn't the only threat, the other standard beowolves started making their way towards the wall. With them distracted, Nemesis transformed his other sword into its gun mode and recharged the other.

After that, he sprinted towards the beowolves and began to open fire. Two of them went immediately upon the first two shots. A rocket coming from the tower had managed to hit three more getting close to the wall. The last two were also picked off from by Obsidian Chimera, eliminating all of the standard beowolves. Four more boarbatusks were spindashing it towards him. Tired of playing around and want to get this mission done, switched Obsidian Chimera back into its staff mode and activated its weapon augment that would boost the strength of its melee attacks. With the edge of the blades now glowing red, he quickly made an underhand slash, cutting the closest boarbatusk clean in half. The other three had now closed the distance and effectively forced Nemesis to move out of the way to avoid getting hit. They tried to attack him at the same again from three different angles, but this time he managed to cleave the one approaching directly in front of him and move out of the other two. they were both sliced open by a horizontal slash once they got within his reach. Nemesis quickly sprinted forward to deal with the 12 remaining Grimm.

Just after Nemesis dropped down from the tower, another person came inside the tower and began to observe Nemesis's fight. He had red eyes, black spiky and a dark, red cape on him.

" _Hmm...this kid's not bad. I'm surprised I never heard of him until recently."_ he thought to himself as he observed Nemesis's easily dispatch the Grimm without getting so much as a scratch.

"Q-Qrow Branwen!?" Captain Rowland exclaimed.

"Rowland."

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard that an expectioanlly strong kid has been taking on some pretty high ranking missions on his own as of late. So, I decided to see for what this kid was made of for myself."

"R-Right... But why aren't you helping, if this wall is breached, the entire city will be in danger!"

"Relax. If neither him or your soldiers can't get deal with theGrimm, then I'll jump in. But it looks like this kid has got everything under control."

Qrow continued to gaze upon the battlefield with eyes filled with both curiosity and amusement. The last person that he knew that had potential on this level that he was seeing, he trained the person personally.

* * *

Nemesis managed to duck underneath the swipes of an alpha Beowolf and he managed to skewer it with Obsidian Chimera. Seeing one of the Ursa Majors was coming, he tossed the Alpha Beowolf towards the Ursa causing them to collide with one another and before either of them could get back up, Nemesis had closed the distance and horizontally sliced both of them. A second Ursa Major had decided to attack him alongside with the last 3 Boarbatusks in all four directions. He just managed to dodge the Ursa's swipe and get some distance from it. Then, Nemesis started twirling Obsidian Chimera with enough force to where you could feel the wind being made if you were around him. While keeping his weapon's momentum, he managed to hack off the arm of the Usra Major as it was trying to swipe at him a second time and then he managed to get close enough to finish it off with a decapitation. He then quickly shifted his stance so two of the Boarbatusks were slash vertically and diagonal. The last one was quickly killed of with a quick jab between the eyes.

One of the two remaining Alpha Beowolves managed to catch him off guard and had attacked him. He only just managed to react in time and forced his weapon's pole arm into the Beowof's mouth. After the Beowolf's jaw was forced to bite down on the weapon, Nemesis quickly lifted it into the air and forced it down into the ground on its back, almost like a wrestling move. He quickly got back up and put down with a quick jab to the face before the Beowolf could recover. He swiftly managed to reposition his staff and cut in half the approaching Alpha Beowolf, killing the last one. The remaining two Usra Majors were now charging at him and the Death Stalker was starting to approaching him. He himself charged straight towards the two Ursa Majors and he managed to jump just high enough to avoid their inevitable attempts to swipe at him. He landed right behind them and as they began to turn around, one was cleaved in half as the other tried to swipe again, the other met the same fate.

With only the Death Stalker still alive, Nemesis focused all of his undivided attention towards it.

It swiftly used its pincer to try and knock Nemesis back. To his surprise, the attack came in fast and he had to block the attack with his weapon, having no time to dodge the attack. Even still, had slid back from the immense strength of the attack. When he was force back, that when he decided to change strategies.

" _The head and joints should be the most vulnerable areas, those pincers and tail are going to make it a pain in the ass to get close to do any lethal damage as it is."_

While still on move, Nemesis deactivated his weapon augment and switched Obsidian Chimera to its blade mode and then both blades to their gun mode.

" _In that case, I'll just have to injure the pincers so they can't defend."_

Nemesis then opened fired. The Death Stalker was able to prevent the aura boosted lasers from doing lethal damage by blocking them with its pincers, but the lasers were strong enough puncture through the plating the pincers had, creating various fragments of Grimm plates on the ground. After enough laser had pierced through the pincers, the Death Stalker's pincers had dropped to the ground, no longer able to function.

" _Perfect, now I just need to get in close and land the killing blow."_

Nemesis now seeing that the Death Stalker was wide open, he sprinted his way towards Death Stalker tried to make use of its stinger to hit Nemesis, but he easily managed to avoid it. Once he got close, he jumped onto the Death Stalker and proceeded to continuously fire his his weapons at his head. It took about a dozen shots but eventually, the Death Stalker started to slow down its movements and it eventually stopped moving altogether. Seeing that it was now dead and no other Grimm were nearby, he got off the Death Stalker.

" _Damn, that's tiring. I'm glad the weapons work, but I'm gonna need some training to grow accustomed to the rate that my aura is used up to support the weapons."_

With the fight now over, he started to get close to the Death Stalker and placed his hands close to its carcass. The Death Stalker started to have a black stream of energy come out from approximately where Nemesis's palms were facing. At the same time, the Death Stalker began to evaporate at a relatively fast pace, faster than what it usually was.

* * *

" _He-He's absorbing it!?"_

Everyone else had proceeded to stand down and continue the work to fortify the wall defenses, the first bit of reinforcements began to arrive as well. So, while the soldiers were completely unaware of what Nemesis was doing, Qrow only just barely noticed it.

" _Ozpin definitely gonna want to know about this."_

"Looks like he's a lot stronger than I what I originally thought." Captain Rowland said. "I can see as to why you have taken an interest in a hunter like that"

"He's not a hunter." Qrow stoically said.

"He's not?" Captain Rowland said, surprised.

"If he is, this is the first I have ever heard of him." Qrow went on. "With someone as skillful as that, they should pretty easily be winning combat tournaments or have some type of fame. But up until a few months ago, I have never even heard of this person and even still, I had to go out of my way to find him."

"That's truly impressive." Captain Rowland replied. "It's quite rare that a person of that caliber wouldn't be a hunter and that's not even accounting for being able to completely avoid the spotlight like that."

"It's all the more reason why I wanted to see what he could for myself." Qrow stated.

* * *

" _Shame. I was hoping to get something new out of that. Oh well, I'll take all the power I can get my hands on."_

With the fight finished and the Death Stalker absorbed, Nemesis began collecting the fragments of Grimm plates that was created as a result of his attacks. The interesting thing about Grimm plates and bones was that they were a pretty rare commodity. The reason is that you actually have to separate them from the Grimm in question before they evaporate. You usually only have a minute or two at the longest to do it. Furthermore, only the really tough Grimm (like the Death Stalker he just fought) can produce Grimm plate and bones that can actually be on levels that can rival steel. In other words, it's pretty challenging to obtain the materials necessary to make Grimm based weapons and armor. That's not even accounting for finding individuals who are capable of finding a smith that can make use of the materials. But on the upside, people will pay a lot of money to obtain these items or properly made Grimm weapons and armor. Once he was done collecting the fragments, he made his way back to the tower to meet with Captain Rowland. Qrow had already left at this point.

"Well done. That's an impressive display of fighting ability you have shown there." Captain Rowland greeted.

"All in a day's work." Nemesis simply said.

"Regardless, here is the Lien that was promised." Captain Rowland handed him the agreed. "Here's an additional 5000 Lien, if not for giving us such a show then for saving us quite a few resources on cleaning up the Grimm for the most part, by yourself."

"Thank you." Nemesis replied.

With that, he turned around and made his way out of the tower.

* * *

 **Location: Nemesis's Apartment**

Nemesis was on his computer going through all the notes and data that he had typed in as of late during his tasks as the Grimm Reaper, internally going over the conclusions that he has drawn so far.

" _With the information that I am getting, it looks like the White Fang are becoming more and more involved with the underground. Proof of this comes directly from the Atlas tech that was found in the last supply interception that was done. This comes a step further when the supplier of that Battlesuit was from someone named Roman Torchwick._ _Based on what I have gathered so far and the information that is publicly available,_ _he's his what you'd expect out of a typical crime lord. Cunning, evasive, ruthless and a very strong sense of self-preservation. He and his subordinates have been among the biggest cause of crime outside of the White Fang for the past year inside Vale."_

" _Judging from the majority of places that he has hit as of late, he and his men having been gathering a large supply of dust as of late. The conclusion that I can think of is that he plans to form some type of army considering that he doesn't seem to have sold it off. Even still, that fails to explain as to why the White Fang would be obtaining human assistance. I guess the next move would be to either see if I could grab Roman Torchwick and get the information out of him or see if I could find any people he's in contact with and get the information out of him._ _For now, the best action is to narrow the places I need to search._ _I think I just might have an idea on where to start."_

Nemesis removed the contacts he had on, revealing his crimson eyes. He then got his Grimm Reaper attire and weapons and proceeded to head out to the underground sewer tunnel. The place itself had about a little lower than average amount of people you'd expect to find on a common street. For the most part, most individuals kept to themselves as he traveled. While a handful of people gave looks of fear, recognizing the specific trench coat that he had, otherwise, he had no problems getting to his destination.

His destination was a bar that was quite popular with most folks around Vale. While on paper such a place might seem like a bad idea for a lead, but the masses blocking the voices plus the alcohol affecting people's judgement makes such a location, a surprising good place to pick up conversations, which could in turn, end up with one obtaining a possible lead. The place itself was bustling with customers, people from all types of life. From the average citizens, to the crook who just getting by. Luckily, the place had its fair share of hooded figures as well, so he didn't draw too much attention.

"Bartender, I'd like to have the usual, please." Nemesis spoke as he put some of the Lien he earned earlier today on the table.

The bartender turned around to find that the Grimm Reaper was sitting around near the front. He quickly went to the bar's back room for a moment before returning and within minutes had cooked up some Root Beer complete with a coaster.

"Ah. it's good to see you again. Business as usual, I presume?" the bartender asked as he handed him his drink..

"Pretty much. The new channels pretty much covered the important bits." Nemesis said.

"Well, I'm just glad _someone_ is willing to take the fight to the White Fang. They been brining about nothing but trouble ever since they started growing within this city. Enjoy the drink."

"Pleasure doing business with you." Nemesis thanked the bartender.

Nemesis decided to relax for a bit to enjoy the Root Beer he got. Part of the reason the place was so popular was due to both the alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages having solid quality for its prices. After about 10 minutes, he finished up his drink and pocketed the coaster. Unbeknownst to the others, it had a microchip attached to the back. One that would hopefully have some answers to the questions he had.

 **Author Note: That's it for this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed and I will see you guys on the next part. Author Author signing off!**


	3. Meeting Nemesis

**Author Note:** **I'M BACK, BITCHES! AND I BROUGHT CHAPTERS FOR EVERYBODY. Thank you for your patience and my apologies for the delay. But now that everything has finally been settled, I can get back to making fanfics. It's great to be back and I do hope you guys enjoy the new chapter.**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Rexxxar: Thank you. This and the other fanfic I'm currently working on, I have been putting thought into for a very long time. I'm glad they are being fairly well received so far.**

 ** **Time/Date: Unknown****

 ** **Location: Unkown territory outside the Kingdom of Vale****

A young boy who looked to be around 8 years old with red eyes and dark brown hair was currently waiting for his guardian to arrive for the usual morning training. They currently in a lone cabin within a clearing deep within the woods outside of the Kingdom of Vale. After about ten minutes, he finally arrived. With some wood at hand as well as some rope, a man in his mid forties. He had tan skin with a black circle beard and rugged, short hair. He was currently wearing what could be described as survival clothing, made almost entirely out of fur and Grimm bone.

"So, what are we doing today Rud?" the young boy asked as he watched the older man set up what looked like to be a wooden slab suspended with the ropes and other pieces of wood.

"We are beginning the next step of your Aura training, Neus. While you are able to use your Aura for defense as well as activating your Semblance, it's not limited to just that. Those who train their Aura can also increase their other attributes as well, making them far more formidable opponents. Today, we will be focusing on strength. You will start by using your Aura in order to enhance your strength to punch through the wooden slab. When you succeed, we will move onto the next stage."

Neus then immediately summoned his Aura and punched the slab of wood, only for him to recoil at the pain, unsuccessful.

"Concentrate, Neus. Focus your Aura on the body part you want to enhance. Make sure that you keep that concentration all the way through with your attack." Rud instructed.

Neus focused in on his hand, as instructed. It took a few minutes, but then he felt it. He opened his eyes and saw that his hand was glowing black in correspondence with his Aura.

"I did it!" Neus joyfully replied. As soon as he said that, the glow in his hand disappeared.

"Not bad. Remember, you need to keep concentrating on it. Now, try again and hit the wooden slab this time."

Neus, after a minute, managed to get his hand glowing with his Aura once more. He punched the wooden slab again. He actually managed to create a few cracks within the wood, but it still didn't break.

" _That's surprising. Not many people would be able to have the ability to do that one the first try. This kid must have a lot of potential for physical power."_

"Alright, that's pretty good for your first try. Keep going until you can break it, then we will continue this until you can break this wooden slab entirely in one try."

* * *

Nemesis woke up from his bed, the contents of his dream still replaying in his mind. Well, dream would be inaccurate. It was instead a memory. A memory of a better times. Back when he still had something of value, before it was forcibly taken from him.

Neus, Neus Mauricio. A name that he had all but abandoned several years ago. It was a name that he had left behind, along with his former life in order to pursue those who took everything from him. Rud, Rud Temitope. The ex-Hunter that he owed his life to and taught him everything. His fate was not a kind one. He was one of the many causalities in this stupid war the White Fang was hellbent on waging with all of mankind. Just thinking about it was enough to make him angry.

To him, he wasn't quite sure on how to deal with the memories of his past. On one hand, he wanted to hold onto them, despite the pain it brings him every time he remembers it. If for no other reason than its all he really has left that isn't just pain and emptiness. On the other hand, he would also like to forget about them entirely so he doesn't have to deal with the pain that comes with it and furthermore can concentrate entirely on those who have made him suffer. But then, if he forgets about it, then what was point of doing all of this?

Deciding that he has spent enough time thinking about it, he decided to get up and head to his computer. Before he went to bed the previous night, he inserted the newly acquired chip from the bar he went to, revealing its contents upon the monitor. It was the camera feed of all the activities within the bar itself within the past week. He got to work right away and began to break down the recordings. It took him several hours, but he eventually managed to get the computer to break down every single conversation that took place within that bar room since he was last there. From there, he initiated a program that would isolate the conversations that contained various words within them. Seeing as it would take time for the computer program to fully isolate all of the footage, he decided to turn in for the night as soon as he started the program. He was now reviewing the various isolated clips that would hold some level of relevance to his new objective. Among them there was one in particular that stood out from the rest.

* * *

"So, have you heard what the next move is?"

"Yeah, I hear that the store called From Dust to Dawn is the next target."

"I wonder what's with Mr. Torchwick anyway. He's lately been heavily focused on gathering Dust in particular. Even when there has been chances to collect Lien or things of more value, he just keeps having Dust as the main priority."

"Maybe it has something to do with the rumor."

"The one about that Neo chick being a crossdresser?"

"Naw, the one about Torchwick being ordered around towards another chick that's much stronger than he is."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, I have seen a few kids that have tagged along with him from time to time when I was helping with securing supplies for a few assignments. I think they work directly under her."

"Wow, that's pretty crazy. As much as I like women, I would _not_ want be around someone would easily able to the Boss submit like that."

* * *

" _Inter_ _e_ _sting, it looks like the next target is From Dust to Dawn._ _W_ _hat's even more nice is that I picked up a nice little rumor. If it's true that he is working under orders from someone else, then I could potentially get even more information._ _M_ _aybe even_ _figure out the_ _exact location of the_ _White Fang leaders."_

 ** **A few nights later****

Nemesis has been scouting around the store From Dust to Dawn for the past several days. There has been the occasional case of the average troublemaker, but still no sign of his target. It was around 10 at night and the store was about to be closed down within an hour. It was then that Nemesis saw Roman Torchwick heading towards the store with five of what could be assumed to be henchmen. Pleased that he found who he was looking for, with his Grimm Reaper attire already donned, he jumped off from the building he was on down to where his target was at.

Roman and his henchmen were quite surprised to find this mysterious person to show up out of nowhere. After all, this was meant to be an easy assignment. Heck, it's even been rumored that the guy running the store was blind. So, they were, understandably, caught off guard when a cloaked figure landed in front of them from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Oh? What do we have here? Isn't it a little early to be dressing up for Halloween?" Roman sarcastically commented. However, his henchmen started to sweat in fear.

"Heh, you'd wish that this was just simply a costume. At the very least, your boys seem to understand the situation quite well." Nemesis replied.

Roman turned around to find his henchmen beginning to back away.

"What the heck are you guys doing!? We got a job to do!"

"B-Boss! That's the Grimm Reaper! That infamous serial killer!"

Roman's eyes widen slightly as those words left his mouth. He turned as he heard the hooded assailant chuckle a little bit. The moonlight began to shine upon him , revealing the Grimm mask that he had along with the red eyes that the Grimm Reaper was famous for. The sarcastic attitude that he had a moment ago completely vanished and was replaced with fear as soon as he saw that.

"Ah yes. That's the reaction I was expecting from the start." Nemesis smirked. "I don't intend to harm you so as long you are willing to give me information." He added, seeing the itchy fingers of Roman and his henchmen.

"Information?"

"Yes, information. It has come to my attention that you have recently been supplying the White Fang with weapons and Dust. With your most recent delivery being a stolen Altesian Battlesuit, I figured that you know something about the White Fang's movements. And if you don't personally know, then I'm pretty sure your boss definitely does."

"I don't answer to anyone!" Roman replied angrily.

"Really? Not even a crazy, psychotic lass that's usually accompanied by two kids?" Nemesis retorted.

Roman tried his best to hold back a flinch at that remark. But that was all Nemesis needed to see.

"That's what I thought." Nemesis smirked. "Now then, you will be coming with me for a little bit of a chat."

"Boys, deal with him." Roman commanded.

His henchmen didn't move an inch. They were aware of just how dangerous and brutal of an opponent their boss was asking them to go against and they were terrified for their lives.

"Deal with him or I'll deal with you myself!" Roman said furiously.

Seeing as they had no other option, four of the henchmen grabbed hold of their melee weapons while the last one took out a sub machine.

The henchmen with a sub machine didn't even get a chance to fire it as Nemesis closed in, twisted his arm so he would drop the gun and punched him square in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out instantly. The next henchmen tried to swing at him with a sword, but Nemesis easily dodged the attacks and he retaliated with a jab that easily broke the man's lower ribs and he followed it up with a roundhouse kick to remove him from the fight. The next two henchmen tried to surround him and attack him at the same time. Nemesis landed a front teep kick, forcing the henchmen back before turning around and delivering a low kick, bringing the henchmen to his knees and he followed it up with a kick below the chin, knocking out another henchmen. The other henchmen, recovering from the kick tried to respond by swing his weapon overhead hoping to cut Nemesis down, but he was immediately knocked out by an uppercut. The final henchmen never got the chance to do anything as he was in shock by how quickly his teammates were put down. Nemesis moved in swiftly and took him out with a right hook.

To say that Roman was surprised would be an understatement. Not only were his henchmen put down so easily, but the person also managed to do with without drawing a weapon. Realizing that he is in no position to win against such a person, he began to back away, hoping to retreat at the first opportunity he got.

"Just where do you think you are going?" Nemesis spoke up, turning his head towards Roman.

Roman froze, seeing that the Grimm Reaper had seen him trying to escape. Nemesis turned around and drew the Grimm bone katana that he had with him and started to make his way towards Roman.

Roman pointed his cane on hand at Nemesis and tried to blast him with the Dust shot that came out of it. However, Nemesis saw it coming and darted out of the way before he could be caught in the blast and he dashed towards Roman, holding down his arm with one hand and putting the katana's blade at Roman's throat.

"Like I said, you will be coming with me for a chat." Nemesis decreed, giving Roman a murderous glare. "If you prefer to make things difficult, I'll just kill you and be done with it." He then increased the pressure that he was putting on the katana, causing Roman to bleed a little, to show that he he meant business.

"Ok! Ok! I'll go with you, just give me at least a little bit of breathing room!" Roman said desperately.

Seeing that he was now complying, Nemesis lowered his katana and started to steer Roman towards the direction of the closest safe place that he knew would be free of prying eyes and ears.

Unfortunately for him, it looked like somebody else had another idea.

Nemesis sensed the incoming presence of another person and only managed to get out of the way in the nick of time. To his dismay, this had seperated him from Roman and he took advantage of that moment and was bolting out of the area. He immediately tried to pursue, but he was intercepted by an incoming swing from a scythe he was forced to dodge, forcing him back and putting even more distance between him and Roman. It looked like this person wasn't going to let him go anytime soon without a fight and it made him furious.

Now that this person had his undivided attention, he was quite surprised at his attacker's appearance. She looked to be a few years younger than him. Silver eyes, black hair with traces of red at the tips. Clothed with a black blouse, stockings and boots with a red cape to complete the setup. But the most peculiar thing about her was the massive, red, crescent shaped scythe that he was wielding.

She immediately charged at Nemesis with the scythe at hand, aiming for a horizontal strike. Nemesis managed to get out of the way of the attack, but her follow up was quick, forcing Nemesis to block. This little dance of dodging blocking continue for a few moments while Nemesis was trying to gauge the strength of his new opponent.

" _Hmm...not much for wasted movements, surprisingly fast attacks and all of this despite wielding a heavy and unconventional weapon. This person is no amateur fighter that''_ _s_ _for sure."_

The mysterious figure then fired a bullet from the scythe whilst swinging her weapon, which managed to cut through his defenses via element of surprise.

" _What the- Not only is that thing also a gun, but she can fire it whilst swinging it as well!?"_

Deciding that he's used up enough time as it is, Nemesis answered the assailant's next attack with a blocked attack and a quick jab straight at the ribs.

" _No matter, she may be good, but I have fought better!"_

Seeing that there was no broken ribs with that attack, Nemesis quickly concluded that she was an Aura user as well and took action. Taking advantage of the opening of his previous attack that threw his assailant off balance, he followed it up with a quick slash with his katana and a kick that sent the scythe wielding girl flying several meters before landing on the pavement.

Nemesis began to walk towards the assailant in order to quickly finish them off.

" _So, this person has an Aura as well. Probably a hunter in training considering_ _her age_ _. That would explain why this person seems so bent on attacking me and the combat_ _competency_ _she has despite being younger than me. It doesn't matter, she fall just like the others_ _and she will pay dearly_ _for making me lose my target."_

The girl managed to get back up and fired several more shots with her scythe once more. Nemesis easily managed to block the shots with his katana. Seeing as that wasn't working, the assailant brought her scythe back to her and took another shot, using the recoil to propel herself forward. Nemesis just barely managed to block that attack that time. Still on the move, the girl fired her weapon again to change direction to fly towards her opponent again which to her dismay ended with another blocked attack.

The red capped girl's attacks were now becoming a lot more aggressive and faster than before. Nemesis was now having a hard time blocking all of her attacks and gunshots and was forced to quickly draw his wakizashi to be able to block all of them after getting nicked a few more times.

After blocking another incoming attack, Nemesis performed another teep kick to force her back and slashed at her with a horizontal swing to take out her remaining Aura and finish the fight. As he was readying his attack the girl took a stance that appeared to be that she was ready to sprint at him. Just as the blade was about to connect with her, she disappeared with all that was left to show for her was rose petals.

" _What!? Where did she go!? I can't even sense her presence."_

Unbeknownst to Nemesis, his attacker had used her semblance to appear several hundred meters out and was preparing to charge at him with all of her speed. After a moment, she charged at him full speed with her semblance leaving an impressive gust of wind behind everything she went past.

His experience and honed battle instincts were the only things that kept Nemesis from taking a devastating blow. He managed to block the incoming strike with his two weapons just in the nick of time. Had he taken just just a few more milliseconds to react, he would have been hit for certain. Even though he managed to block the attack, it was still sufficiently both powerful and unexpected enough to send him back several meters. He used the opening that he now had due to the shocked look on his attacker's face, no doubt that due to that he had the strength to block an attack of magnitude, to strike at her forearm, disarming her of her weapon and did a spinning kick to send her flying towards a nearby building, depleting the last of her Aura.

Disarmed and without an Aura, the red cloaked assailant was now powerless to stop Nemesis as he pulled her hair, forcing her to get up and put his katana at her neck.

"Not only did attack me, but because of you, a valuable target got away. It's now going to be significantly far harder to find, never mind capture him again. Do you have any reasons as to why I shouldn't just straight up kill you right now?" Nemesis growled out at her.

The red cloaked girl was now terrified. It was clear it never occurred to her on what could happen if she lost, never mind consider that possibility. Despite the fear being ever present, she was in total silence, likely trying to process that she was going to die.

"Nothing? Well then..." Nemesis started.

Before Nemesis could finish his sentence he was hit with a purple stream of energy and was forced onto the ground. He quickly recovered and tried to assess the situation, but was forced to dodge more energy streams, putting more distance between him and his previous assailant. Now that he had a moment to breathe, he took a quick glance at this new combatant.

She was a woman who looked to be in her thirties. She had light, blonde hair with green eyes. She was wearing a white, long sleeve shirt accompanied with a black, high waisted pencil skirt. She currently had a riding crop out, pointed at Nemesis's' direction with her stern eyes piercing at him.

" _Another one!? Just how many more are going to show!?"_ Nemesis thought irritably. _"_ _Wonderful_ _, looks like I'll have to_ _retreat._ _If it was just her, I would consider_ _fighting_ _her_ _, but the other_ _one_ _is still_ _kicking_ _and furthermore since it's common for Hunters to be on teams,_ _it's possible that more reinforcements could very well be inbound."_

Seeing that sticking around was going to result in anything good, he took out a small pellet that was within his cloak and threw it into the ground, revealing the item to be a smoke bomb that produces black smoke. The new attacker tried to fire more energy beams, but none of them hit her target. Seeing that she didn't hit anything, with her riding crop she motioned all the nearby debris that was made from the previous battles and directed to smoke and made a tornado, clearing out the smoke. Unfortunately for her, Nemesis had completely vanished at this point, no doubt using the few moments that smoke bought him and the fact that charging headlong into smoke would be reckless to escape.

Seeing that Nemesis was now gone, the older woman gave out a sigh of both relief and frustration before turning to the red cloaked girl, who was now picking up her weapon, still a bit downtrodden from how her fight went and she had to be saved.

"Thank you." she said, hearing the other person approach her before looking up to see who it was that saved her.

"You're a Huntress." She gasped before asking.

"Can I have your autograph?"

* * *

" _Phew, that was close."_ Nemesis thought to himself as he made this way back home via the underground sewer way.

It looked like whoever had attacked him decided not to pursue him and consequently, he hastily made his way home, making sure that he wasn't being observed or followed along the way.

" _Damn_ _nit_ _. I may be strong, but there's no way I'll be able to take on a seasoned Hunter as I am now,_ _especially if I can't be beat reckless punks like that girl without getting hit_ _. Maybe I should have used more subtlety because now, if full grown Hunters decided to hunt me down, this could become problematic."_

After about an hour of walking, Nemesis finally managed to make his way back home.

" _Well, that turned out to be a complete disaster."_ Nemesis thought as he laid down on his bed, his Grimm Reaper attire now removed.

" _Oh well, it can't be helped. I'll just get some sleep and plan my next move tomorrow."_

 ** _ **The next day...**_**

Nemesis woke up quite bitter, remembering yesterday's events and how poorly everything went. He just finished up his morning coffee and go onto his computer to begin planning his next move when he heard his doorbell ring. Surprised to see that he had a visitor, he decided to check the door's peephole to see who it was.

There were two people that Nemesis could see. The first was a man that appeared to be around his fifties, if his silver hair, complexionand cane gave any indication. He also had thin brown eyes with shaded glasses and was clothed with a black suit, trousers and vest with a green shirt underneath the suit and vest. The other person, to Nemesis's surprise, was the middle aged woman that he had encountered last night.

"Who is it?" Nemesis asked through the door.

"I am Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy." The older man said, introducing himself.

"And the woman?"

"Gylnda Goodwitch, assistant to Professor Ozpin." The woman declared.

" _Interesting...I don't recall doing anything that would give away my identity as the Grimm Reaper...sigh I really don't like that name. But regardless, why would they be looking for me?"_

"What brings you here?" Nemesis asked.

"We are hoping to speak to a Mr. Nemesis. We have business with him and was wondering if he would be willing to answer a few questions about himself." Ozpin answered.

" _Questions about me? ...I'll prepare a contingency just to be safe. But I don't think they could have figured it out."_

"Give me a few minutes please."

Using the time he bought himself, he went and tided up the place to make sure that nothing that could link him to the Grimm Reaper was put away and out of curiosity's gaze. It was a good thing that he always cleaned his gear at a location away from his home so that the scent of blood wouldn't fill his home. He furthermore made sure to setup a small bomb that would set the place alight in a worst case , he set up a table and some chairs for his guests.

With that finished, he unlocked the door and opened it, inviting the visitors to come inside.

"My apologies for that, I don't exactly get visitors very often." Nemesis said, motioning the two to have a seat.

"It's quite alright, Mr. Nemesis." Ozpin said, taking a seat on one of the chairs. Goodwitch went and ahead and followed suit. Nemesis placed himself on the opposite side of a table of Ozpin and Goodwitch.

"Now then, what business could the higher ups of a Hunter School have with me?"

"I'm a bit curious about this." Ozpin answered, showing Nemesis a scroll recording of his fight with the Grimm the other day. "Where exactly did you learn how to fight like that?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Goodwitch responded, her eyes narrowing.

"I don't recall having any obligation to tell you anything about me." Nemesis sternly replied. "Especially not to two strangers I know nothing about.

"You do understand who Professor Ozpin is, don't you?" Nemesis angrily. "He's-"

"The headmaster of the Beacon Hunter Academy. Yes, that's already been established. What's your point?"

Gylnda's expression turned to shock at Nemesis declaration.

"Just because Ozpin here happens to be a headmaster of a Hunter Academy doesn't make him trustworthy or even a good person for that matter. If you are familiar with the stories of the current head of the Schnee Dust Company, then you should know that not everyone that is held in high regard truly deserves to be respected." Nemesis said with a level of irritation and resentment that was not missed by either Ozpin or Goodwtich.

"As far as I'm concerned, both of you are complete strangers that has yet to do anything that gives credence to the idea that you can be trusted. "

Goodwitch looked like she was ready to continue to argue with Nemesis, but Ozpin put his hand up to signal her to let him handle this.

"Very well Mr. Nemesis, then allow to come right out and say it. We are interested in you because there are very few people, if any at all, that can fight like this at your age group. You look to be at your late teens, yet you fight like someone would be in their mid to late twenties from an experience could really use someone like you. While things have been relatively quieter than usual as of the most recent years all across Remanent, there's a storm coming and we need all the help we can get."

" _So, he wants something from me_ _and it's related to my combat competency_ _."_

Nemesis stared at Ozpin for a moment before deciding to answer.

" _It's tough to_ _get a_ _read him, but at the very least I don't see any_ _signs of_ _deception just yet. So, I shall give him a vague answer for now."_

"I started training at an extremely young age. It was a necessity, considering that my guardian and I lived outside the Kingdoms. My guardian was an ex-Hunter and he taught me most of the fundamentals of combat. He also taught me how to make use of my aura and optimize it. About four years ago, I parted ways with him and was surviving and training on my own. I moved into Vale where I currently live two year ago." Nemesis explained.

"I see, so you been mainly learning via one on one sessions with a mentor and outside the Kingdoms, no less. That would also explain why there are no school records of you anywhere." Ozpin said.

"While we are on the subject, how did you get a recording of that fight?" Nemesis asked. "I don't recall seeing you or your assistant there and I doubt the soldiers would have gone out of their way to record something as menial as a fight, especially given the circumstances."

"Let's just say a dusty old crow did take interest in watching you fight and decided to bring the information to me." Ozpin answered cryptically.

Nemesis was staring at Ozpin, trying to gauge as to what he was planning. It was clear he wanted something from him, but the question now was what and why.

"But more to the reason why I called you here. I would like to extend an invitation to join my school, Beacon Academy."

"I'm not interested." Nemesis replied.

"What?" Goodwitch responded, surprised.

"I said, I'm not interested. Why would I want to go to a combat school when I'm already powerful as it is? Not to mention, I'm likely to be significantly stronger and more experienced in combat than most of your students. Many times over easily when dealing with Grimm and enough to at least match plenty of even your senior students when against other people."

"Well then, why not join to help in our fight against the Grimm? They are everywhere and many people get wiped out everyday because of them. And as Ozpin said, we need all the help we can get." Goodwitch suggested.

"Why should I care? I'm more than capable of defending myself just fine. As for everyone else, if most people purposefully choose not to learn how to fight and consequently, leave themselves vulnerable to be so easily slaughtered by such simple beasts, then they are deserving of their fate." Nemesis firmly asserted.

" _Seriously, how selfish_ _!?"_ Goodwitch thought as she gritted her teeth. "Not everyone can or is capable of being able to fight, Mr. Nemesis. And it's a part of the responsibility of those who can to protect those who cannot."

"You might as well stop attempting to use your sense of morals to try and convince me to aid your cause, because it won't work." Nemsis replied, with a lot of hostility this time. "I stopped caring about such petty notions years ago and honestly, I'm surprised an adult such as yourself is actually holding on to such a naive mindset."

Goodwitch was now seething in anger. It was unbelievable, nearly everyone she knew at his age would want to at least try to aid in some way in the fight against the Grimm. And many would jump at the opportunity to attend a Hunter School, especially folks of this caliber to strength, even if the reasons behind it weren't always the most altruistic. Yet, this is the first time she has seen someone that so blatantly reject the invitation and have the nerve to call her naive.

"In that case," Ozpin spoke up, shifting his glasses. "Since attending as a conventional student doesn't appeal to you. Then, why don't I hire you instead?"

"Hire me?/him?" Nemesis and Goodwitch said at the same time.

"Interesting idea. But what exactly do you intend to hire me for?" Nemesis considered.

"You see, I just so happen to have a small group of people that currently work under me directly. One of them is currently severely injured and is in my care as we speak. However, we only just barely got this person out of harm's way and we fear that the school itself may become a target of infiltration if it hasn't already in order to find this person. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem and we'd handle it ourselves but..."

"In this case, not only is the person important enough to warrant not having their presence known, but if the infiltrators see that you are onto them, they will either leave or redouble their efforts to avoid suspicion. You want to try and take them by surprise in order to be able to catch them when they least expect it." Nemesis answered.

"Exactly. I would like for you to attend the school as an undercover agent that will monitor the school and report any unusual findings directly to either myself of Gylnda here. I will require you to participate in the school as a student in order to this little task to work. You will be required to do the things that are expected of a student for the sake of keeping up the facade, but of course, you won't have to worry as much as you would as others. If you do manage to find something, that will take priority over any all other school related stuff." Ozpin briefed.

"Naturally, you will rewarded quite generously for this work. 5500 Lien monthly for this and any all expenses for your stay at the school, including all supplies need for the job will be covered."

" _Interesting proposition and a fairly generous one at that_ _considering that_ _all I really have to do is basically reconnaissance work._ _Hmmm...if I could continue to achieve my goals with this type of work then maybe..."_

"If I do decide to accept this work, then there will be two conditions." Nemesis replied.

Ozpin nods his head in understanding.

"First, there's still some important unfinished personal business that I must attend to and it will require me to be absent from the school every once in a while. I will finds a means of being able to keep my eye on things while I'm gone, but nevertheless I will not be present within the school itself."

"Ok, and what's the second condition?" Ozpin asked.

"Up the pay to 6000 Lien a month. It's clear that you two see attending your school. Plus, with me no longer being able to freely take missions on a daily basis, I will no longer have the means to continue making a constant revenue source which is important for the tools and other supplies that I use. As well for future plans that I have."

"..."

After that declaration, Ozpin began to chuckle a bit.

"You are quite the shrewd businessman, Mr. Nemesis."

"Well," Nemesis replied with a small grin. "When one has to survive on their own, especially when dealing with other people, I would said being shrewd is a requirement."

"Very well, I have no issues with theses arrangements." Ozpin declared.

Nemesis gave a small smirk in response to hearing that.

"In that case, it looks like we got a deal, Professor Ozpin." He said, holding out his hand, expecting a handshake.

"We do indeed, Mr. Nemesis." Ozpin said, shaking Nemesis's hand. "I shall see within the school grounds one week from today for the entrance test and a few days from that, within the grounds as a student. Do you require assistance on finding it or do you know where it is?"

"I got it, Professor. So, you guys need anything else from me or will that be everything." Nemesis responded.

"No that will everything. Thank you for time, Mr. Nemesis." Ozpin replied, getting up from his seat. Seeing that, Goodwitch got up as well and the two of them left the apartment.

Once Nemesis left the room, Goodwitch simply turned to Ozpin, furious.

"Seriously, Ozpin!? What are you thinking!? Do you realize just how suspicious and dangerous of a person you are letting into the school grounds."

"I do, Gynyda. Considering that outside the two years that he has been in Vale, we have absolutely no records of him whatsoever. That also doesn't account for how exactly he learned how to fight like that. True enough, if he was training outside the kingdoms, he would be quite powerful. However, to get to the level of strength that he is now, he would have to have been training on how to fight for most of his life, leaving the question of who exactly taught him and why. Not to mention his less than pleasant reaction for when he mentioned the head of the Schnee Dust Company. I've seen those kind of eyes many times before; they belong to someone who has taken lives and plenty of them." Ozpin confirmed, listing his suspicions.

"Then why are you letting into our school!? He could easily hurt our students or worse, he could lead them down a very dangerous path!" Gylnda exclaimed, shocked that Ozpin would still let him inside the school.

"I understand , it's just like you said. We are fighting an uphill battle against the Grimm and their leader and the person that was before us just a few minutes ago was among one of the strongest people of his age group that I have seen in a long time."

"Still, that's not the only problem. Based on what Qrow told us, he saw that he had a Grimm bone weapon on him on his back when he was fighting. Additionally, he requested that he would like to have time off to himself. There's a good possibility that he just might be the Grimm Reaper! You do understand that, don't you!?" Goodwitch angrily replied.

"Even if that is true, the problem is that such evidence is, at best, circumstantial. While the weapon itself is very uncommon, it's not that unheard off and those who are skilled and familiar with the materials can make it. It also fairly feasible that he would know how to make such weapons if he's been really has been living outside the Kingdoms for most of his life. As for the personal request, while it's suspicious, there's no direct links that can be made to even warrant him to be suspicious with law enforcement." Ozpin calmly explained.

"Still, even if he's not, why risk such a person possibly corrupting our students and putting them in jeopardy!? We could easily just have folks keep an eye on him to ensure that he can't do anything."

"That was my original plan." Ozpin retorted. "But the second bit of Qrow's report has made things far more complicated."

"Why?"

"It's simple. If what he said is true, then it's possible that this person has the capability to absorb Grimm and make use of their power." Ozpin answered.

"So?"

"So...what if word got out to our enemies that this person is around? What if they were to reach them? What if they explained the whole story to him?What if they were to tell him that we were tailing him because we view him as someone dangerous?"

Goodwitch immediately went pale after hearing that, now realizing what tailing him just might end up causing.

"They could more easily convince him to side with them since us tailing him would illustrate either potential ill intent or paranoia." Goodwitch answered.

"Precisely, and I hope I don't have to explain just how dangerous of an enemy he will be if he's with someone who can create Grimm at will."

The implications were terrifying to think about. Taking that into consideration, if combined with the talented fighters that she had on her side, he could easily become one of their most dangerous enemies if he ends up siding with them.

"I see that you are now beginning to understand why I decided to invite him to the school now. Best case scenario, we will be able to help him remove some of his darker viewpoints and he'll side with us."

"I still don't understand why you are going to such lengths to have him ally with us." Goodwitch replied.

"It's quite simple. Regardless of what he is, he is still a teenager and one that has gone through a lot. You may see him as just a murderer, Glynda, but once I got a look at his eyes, I saw not just a killer, but someone who has gone through a severe amount of trauma that would break many people. I see it as a part of my responsibility as a headmaster, no, as someone who looks after children, to try and help him."

Goodwitch sighed, still a bit frustrated, but realizing that he had a point.

"If nothing else, he doesn't strike me as the type who would go out of their way to betray someone else unless it's for a very good reason. Besides, all we are having him do is keep an eye on the school so there really isn't much risk in having him around the school. But make no mistake, this _is_ a gamble and a risky one at that. However, the consequences for failing to at least give this a try far outweigh the risks that come with this." Ozpin concluded.

"All we can hope for is that this gamble pays off."

 **Author Note: That's it this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed and I will see you guys on the next part. Author Author signing off!**


	4. Beaconing of a New Life

**Author Note: Alright! It's time for the next chapter. I did decide to rename the fic as well as change the description of the story to more appropriately fit what the story is about. The names of a few characters were also adjusted. Neus Mauricio will be changed to Nell Nero and Rud Temitope to Roderick Duncan. Other than that, please enjoy the new chapter.**

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 **Time : 0900 AM, One week since Ozpin's meeting**

 **Location: Nemesis's Apartment**

A week has passed since the day Nemesis had meet with Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch. Today was day he was to head out to Beacon Academy for his new assignment. The entrance exam was stupidly easy for him. A brief test on knowledge on combat and a quick test of one's combat potential. He, unsurprisingly, got the highest on the combat test and scored in the top 3 in the knowledge test, likely due to some answers being by the books as opposed to actual field experience.

In the meantime, he had found no leads on finding Roman Torchwick. No doubt keeping a low profile after he very narrowly escaped capture. So, he was busy making adjustments on Obsidian Chimera. The main thing was that it longer required the gauntlets in order to use the gun mode and would instead the metal would expand outward enough to protect the wrists. He was also in the midst on working on a new weapon. A longsword to be more specific. While he has the basic design down, he isn't sure on any additional features and isn't sold on a name just yet.

Seeing that it was time for him to leave in order to catch the bullhead that will take him to the school, he grabbed a set of portable tools and his two weapons and took off.

To be honest, it was quite the change for Nemesis. Whenever he travels on public transport, most people are usually quite a bit older or younger when compared to him. This the first time he has been on a bullhead that actually was filled people around the same age as him. Seeing as it would be a bit before he would arrive at the Academy and he really didn't feel like just sitting there doing nothing, he decided to hone in on some conversations. While there was several people that sparked his interest, but there were two that really caught his attention. The same red hooded girl that he fought a week ago was here was accompanied by someone else.

She had long, blond hair and lilac eyes. She wore a brown jacket and black mini shorts. Her looks were one that would receive a lot of attention from the lecherous types.

"I still can't believe that my little sister is now going to be attending the same school as me. It's the best day ever!" The blonde said as she tightly hugged the other girl.

"Please shtap." The red hooded girl managed to get out, trying desperately to break free of the blonde's grip.

"I'm just so happy that this is happening!" The blonde girl said joyfully.

"Although, I'm still not sure whether I should proud or upset with how you managed to get in." She said, her demeanor changing to a stern one.

"I already said I was sorry, Yang. I don't know what else you want me to say."

"I want you to promise me, Ruby, that you won't go chasing bad guys like that alone again." Yang said.

"Alright, Yang. I promise." Ruby said.

"On the upside at least, you shouldn't have any issues with making friends. After all, you are currently the only known individual that has fought against him and lived to tell the tale. You'll be the bees knees to most of these people." Yang pointed.

"I don't want to be known as the bees knees. I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."

"Uh...Ruby, you do realize that you plan on becoming a Huntress, right? You can't exactly have normal knees if-"

"That's not the point, Yang!" Ruby interrupted.

In the midst of their conversation, a hologram showing Glynda Goodwitch showed up, explaining the history of Beacon Academy.

" _So, Ruby was the one that attacked when I was out as the Grimm Reaper and she's attending the school since she managed to survive? Intriguing...furthermore she has a sister as well. She must be quite a bit better than I originally thought if she's allowed to attend his school since she does look to be at least a few years too young."_ Nemesis thought to himself.

Seeing that the conversation between those two had ended, Nemesis decided to turn his attention elsewhere. Unfortunately, there was no more conversations of interest going on, but there was one more girl of interest that he saw.

This girl had light blue hair that ran to her shoulders. He had a white, hooded cloak and wasn't currently wearing the hood. She also was wearing a light blue kimono with a navy blue obi. It also had a few strange symbols on it all around the obi. One that looked like an I and another that looked like an H and both of them were colored with a lighter shade of navy blue. Perhaps the most interesting thing about her is that where her eyes should have been, there was instead a cloth covering them with the same color scheme and symbols as the obi. Finally, she had next to her a silver colored cane that looked like it was square instead of being cylinder with the edges being sharpened and it also that a navy blue sword handle.

" _Woah...she's blind!? If she's seriously attending this school as a Huntress, that'll be a first. I have never seen a person capable of fighting that is actually blind."_

The bullhead eventually landed within the school grounds and the announcement was played signaling that the bullhead has arrived at its intended destination.

" _Whelp, I'm now here. Let's head to the entrance ceremony and see where I'll go from there."_

Nemesis thought to himself as he got off the bullhead and wasted no time heading towards the academy. The remaining students began to make their way out of the bullhead as well with one in particular taking their time due to motion sickness.

* * *

The blind girl that Nemesis was looking at before made her way out of the bullhead as well and began to head towards the entrance of the school.

" _Okay...it seems that the place that the location of the entrance ceremony is just a straight shot from the school entrance."_ the girl thought as began to fiddle with her scroll.

" _Thank goodness that it's possible for scrolls to adapt to braille, this would have made things much more difficult otherwise."_

After tracing her scroll her for a few minutes, she managed to figure out where she's at and where to head to next to make it to the opening ceremony. As she began to walk within the school walls, intent on getting to her destination as soon as possible, her ears picked up on something.

"Ow! Ow! Please...stop it!"

"Oh no. We don't plan on letting you go just yet. Not until you've learned your lesson first."

That was enough for the blind girl to head towards the direction of the voices. Once she managed to find out where the voice came from, she felt furious. While she couldn't exactly see what was going on, her enhanced senses plus also being able to feel the emotions of the five people that she found allowed her to piece together what was going and she acted accordingly.

To everyone else, there were four guys that appeared to picking on a bunny faunus, pulling her ears and verbally degrading the guy that currently held onto them could yank at the faunus girl's ears any further, he felt someone smack him at the back of the head.

"Ow!" the guy recoiled from the hit before stopping to see who had hit him.

"What do you think you're doing!?" The girl stern stated, her cane pointed at him.

"The hell is your problem?" One of the guys, spoke out, distinguished by his Mohawk.

"It's fine, Russell. She's just doesn't understand the nature of things." The guy said, brushing the action off. He certainly wasn't going to take lip from some girl that looked like she never fought a day in her life, never mind a blind one.

"You see, there's a little bit of an order of how things work here. So, we are teaching this little faunus here a lesson. So, you are either with us or with them." The leader pointed to the bunny faunus.

"That simple, huh? It seems like an easy choice then." The girl said, giving a smirk.

He smiled back in return.

"Oh good, I'm glad you unders-"

Before he finish, the blind girl took her cane and slashed at him with the cane's sharp point. He felt a slight sting and his cheek felt a little wet. It took a moment for him to realize that he was now bleeding.

"You little bitch! Get her!"

"What's going on here!?" An authoritative voice boomed before a fight could break out. Goodwitch was on the scene, not looking pleased.

"We weren't doing anything, teach." The leader spoke up, lying through his teeth. "We were just showing our new friend around the school when _she_ came out of nowhere and hit me with her cane." The leader pointed accusingly at the blind girl.

"That's not true at all!" The faunus girl cried. "These men were harassing he until she came along to help me."

"Can you believe this, teach? We were trying to be nice to her and she starts making up lies."

"Lies, huh? Maybe I should show a reenactment on what really happened, this time with some Dust!" The blind girl ominously threatened.

"Enough!" Goodwitch shouted. "I will not have any fighting occur that is not a part of the school curriculum or festivals. If any of you cause any more trouble, I will see to it that are on the first flight out of this school. Do I make myself clear?"

"Of course, there be anymore problems with us. Right fellas?" The leader said, turning to the others. They all nodded in agreement.

"Whelp, unless you have something else for us. I think it's time we split. Have a good day, teach."

With that said, the bully and his companions all began to walk away, leaving the others. Goodwitch simply sighed, knowing that he and his little group were going to the difficult ones.

"And you, Miss Sapphire?"

"As long as those guys stop with the bullying, then you won't any issues with me." Miss Sapphire stated, still "looking" at the direction of the bullies.

Seeing that she understood, Goodwitch decided to stroll away.

"Thank you." The bunny Faunus thanked. "But you shouldn't have done that, now Cardin and his group are just going to cause you problems as well." She added worryingly.

"Let them try." Miss Sapphiredeclared. "If I find out that they are causing you or anyone else problems, they will feel the merciless wrath of winter. I can't stand bullying."

The bunny faunus gave a bow in courtesy. "Well, thanks again, Miss Sapphire. I'm Velvet Scarlatina."

"Eira Sapphire. And please, just Eira." Eira introduced. "If they continue to give you problems, if the staff cannot or will not help, please come find me."

"Ok and thank you." Velvet said before she left the scene.

Since that little triffle was dealt with, Eira decided to address the other issue that came behind her.

"So, do you plan on just standing there all day or are you going to introduce yourself?" Eira called out as she turned around.

The person that was standing behind her as was another girl. She had slightly dark skin, long, dark red hair and bright orange eyes. She had ears of a wolf, indicating that she was a faunus. She was clothed with light brown pants, a short brown-red shirt with matching boots. On her arms were some dark red gauntlets that looked to have a moon-colored orb around the center and it was currently glowing.

"Oh? You knew I was here?" the newcomer questioned.

"You've been watching at a distance ever since Miss Goodwitch approachedthose bullies and I." Eira said.

"You got some impressive senses, not many would be able to notice me like that." The new girl stated.

"Oh, name's Sanria Bianca. Wolf faunus and hunter in training extroadinare." Sanria introduced.

"Eira Sapphire." Eira replied simply.

"I gotta say that was quite the show you put on." Sanria commented.

"?" Eira simply tilted her head in confusion.

"Not a whole lot of people would be willing to stand up for someone like that, much less for a faunus." Sanria explained as he crossed her arms, thinking about something.

"Oh, I know! I have someone I would like for you to meet!" Sanria exclaimed, grabbing Eira's arm, dragging her away.

"H-Hey! Let go of my arm!" Eira shouted as she tried to free herself.

Despite her struggles, the wolf faunus had a very strong grip and wasn't planning on releasing Eira anytime soon. She could have resorted to using Dust to try and free herself, but she didn't want to hurt her, not to mention if she came across Goodwitch again, she'd would be kicked out for sure. This almost comedic struggle continued on for about 10 minutes before the two of them headed outside and Sanria finally found who she was looking for.

The person in question was a girl who had long, black hair, yellow eyes with a ribbon on top of her hair. She was currently wearing a white shirt with a black vest on top. She also wore black boots with matching full stockings. She looked towards the approaching people with both surprise and fear.

"Hellooo~ Blake!" Sanria sang out as she waved her hand out.

"Sanria!? What are you doing here?" Blake asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to be your classmate!" Sanria replied, seemingly oblivious to the fear present in Blake.

"By the way, there's a little someone that I'd like for you to meet. Go on, say hi!" Sanria said as she brought Eira before Blake.

"Hi, I'm Eira." Eira said meekly.

"...Blake Belladonna." Blake then turned towards Sanria. "Can you give us a moment, Eira?"

"Sanria, what are hell are you doing?" Blake whispered. "I'm trying my hertiage as a Faunus a secret here! What if she ends up-"

"Sorry for interrupting, but you are Faunus too, aren't you?"

Blake just stood there, frozen in fear that had been found out so quickly.

"I'm sorry for butting in, but I could tell right away. Both of your Auras feel a bit different when compared to a human's, plus while it's very subtle and I don't intend to offend either of you, you two smell a bit different as well."

" _Of course, she's blind. She must have heavily trained her sense of smell to be able to notice that, hearing as wellif she's good enough to enter this school. Plus, being able to tell just by how our Auras feel? That's the first I've heard of that."_ Blake thought to herself, thinking of how to reprimand her friend .

"None taken. But what exactly did you mean by feeling Auras?" Sanria asked.

"To put it simply, in addition to training my senses of hearing and smell. I also learned how to sense the Auras of others and figured out how to discern various attributes of a person by that."

Sanria whistled, impressed."That's pretty awesome, you gotta teach me how to do that sometime."

"Maybe." Eira said, a small smile appearing on her face. "But anyways, it doesn't matter to me if you girls are Faunus or not. You seem like nice people and I'm all too familiar on what's like to be treated badly over something I have no control of." Eira stated, with a hint of sadness at the end.

The two women simply looked at one another in understanding before Sanria ended up putting Eira one her back, intending to carry her away once more.

"Lets' get going to the opening ceremony, new friend." Sanria said, ignoring the now struggling person on her back.

"Hey, come on now! I may be blind, but I can walk!"

Blake just simply sighed and shook her head as she followed behind her old friend.

" _She always like this, but I wouldn't have her any other way."_

* * *

Ruby was not having the greatest start to her day. First, her sister ran off. Then, some random rich girl started yelling at her for something she had no control over. And just when she came across someone who was willing to help, she disappeared as fast as she showed up. At the very least, she managed to find someone willing to stick around. He was called Jaune Arc. A tall blonde guy with dark blue eyes. With a black short sleeve hoodie with blue jeans for clothing and white diamond shaped armor.

"So, any ideas on where to we need to go?" Ruby asked Jaune.

No, I was just following you." Jaune replied.

"Maybe we can ask him for help?" Ruby pointed out after looking around for a but.

The person in question was currently sitting on a nearby bench, starting the forest that was at a distance. He was tall, standing at about 183cm (6ft). He has short, brown hair and dark, green eyes. He is wearing a brown vest, gauntlets, bracers, boots and greaves. Underneath them, he has dark, green shirt and pants. Two other noteworthy thing is that he also has a brown belt and straps attached to his legs. Also, he had what looked like to be a small, dark green 30 cm (1ft) toolbox attached to his belt and two quivers filled with arrows nearby him.

"Excuse me!" Ruby called out.

The guy turned around. "Hmm? Can I help you?"

"Yeah, we were wondering where we need to go for the school ceremony." Ruby answered.

"Oh. You know where the center building is?"

Both Ruby and Jaune nodded.

"Enter it and keep going straight. The ceremony will be held out at the auditorium. You can't miss it."

"Thank you, ummm..." Ruby thanked.

"Xander. Xander Donaghy." Xander answered.

"Oh. I'm Ruby Rose." Ruby introduced.

"Jaune Arc. By the way, if you know where the ceremony is, then what are you doing out here?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, that. There's still a little bit of time left before the ceremony starts and I do like being outside so, I thought I stick around for a few minutes." Xander replied.

"I see." Jaune said, accepting the answer.

"By the way, are those arrows?" Ruby asked, curious.

"Yes, yes they are." Xander said.

"OOOOOOOOOHHH! Bow based weapon's are really rare to see nowadays, can I see it pleeeaase?" Ruby begged, stars visible in her eyes.

"Sure thing." Xander said with a hint of pride in his voice.

He took the toolbox like item he had and with a press of a button, the metal began to shift. The handle began to straighten out and the rest of the box began to form a curve. Upon the complete transformation, the toolbox had become a compound bow, with the finishing touch of the string coming from the top limb and connecting to the bottom limb.

"Wow." both Ruby and Jaune stated.

"Impressed? I called her Heartstriker. As you can see, it is a compound bow, with the power to launch arrows at speeds that fall just short of than capable of putting down most lower tier Grimm with ease."

"That's amazing!" Ruby said, getting a closer look at the weapon. "You actually managed to get all of the parts of the compound parts within the weapon itself."

"Correct, it took a bit tinkering and a bit of assistance for some ideas, but I managed to pull it off."

"But why do you have two set of arrows?" Jaune asked. "Not only are they there, but from what I can see, they are of different size too."

"That, Jaune is because of this." Xander said, pressing another button on the bow's grip.

The bowstring retracted back into the top limb and both the top and bottom limbs began to extend and once done, gears could be heard, coming from the weapon itself just before the bowstring reattached itself to the bottom limb again.

"While it's not the most fancy transformation, the bow can now launch arrows at even faster speeds and can be lethal to the majority of Grimm up to at least 500 meters. This is what I use to hit Grimm at much more extreme distances. As an example, I was able to snipe a Griffon out of the sky with Heartstriker once."

Ruby and Jaune looked at Xander with sheer shock.

"Yeah, this thing can pack that much of a punch. The heavy draw weight combined with my customized arrows can easily make short work of all but the most heavily armored Grimm. Even then, that's why I have Dust arrowheads on a good number of my arrows."

"That's so cool!" Ruby cried in joy. "Here, let me show you my own."

Ruby took out her own weapon that was in its compact mode and brought it out, transforming it into her red scythe.

"I call her Crescent Rose. As you can see, it is a scythe combined with a high caliber sniper rifle. Built with my own two hands." Ruby said.

"That's quite impressive if that's true. Even more so if you can actually wield it effectively. There's is a reason why scythes aren't exactly common weapons after all." Xander replied, impressed.

"What about you, Jaune?" Xander asked.

"Well, mine is nowhere near as impressive as you guys but..." Jaune meekly answered.

He took out his sword out and his sheath transformed, revealing a sword and shield combination.

"Can it turn into a gun, any other weapon modifications ?" Ruby asked, looking like an animal that's getting an early meal.

"No, this is it. It's a family heirloom called Crocea Mors. This is all it can do." Jaune said in a disappointed tone.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with keeping things simple. The weapon I have now was only a recent creation, I was mainly working with basic longbows and warbows for the longest time." Xander claimed.

A beeping noise began to playing, catching the group by surprise. Xander took out his scroll, revealing that an alarm went off.

"The ceremony will be starting soon, I'd say it's time we got going." Xander stated.

* * *

 **Location: Beacon Academy, Auditorium**

All of the new students were at the auditorium. Most were simply talking among themselves. Others were just patiently waiting for the announcement to start so they could go on their merry way. Nemesis was among the latter category.

" _Alright. Let's see what my new boss wants to say, afterwards I'll briefly meet up with him and his assistant to see what the plans are and get a move on."_ Nemesis thought to himself.

"Ahem..." The voice over the speaker caught the attention of the fellow students, all had turned to see that Professor Ozpin, alongside with Goodwitch was at the center stage.

"I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft an acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of people and your fellow students."

Quite a few students beamed, looking among their fellow classmates with excitement.

"But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, and misguided deeds."

Several students were taken by surprise by the professor remark.

"Students in need of purpose, direction." He continued. "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It's up to you to take the first step."

With that said, Ozpin stepped down and Goodwitch took his place.

"You will all gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

Following those words, she followed Ozpin leaving the stage. The students began to disperse heading their own way. However, Nemesis decided to follow Goodwitch and Ozpin to report in for the task he was given by them. It didn't take long to spot them.

"Ah, Mr. Nemesis, good to see you made it here safely." Ozpin greeted.

"Thanks." Nemesis responded. "So, what's the plan?"

"For now, you will participate in the school activities, just like a student here. If you spot anything, come straight to either Ozpin or myself." Goodwitch replied.

"Understood." Nemesis replied. Seeing that that was all there was to it, he began to walk away pondering on what to do next.

Goodwitch was looking at Nemesis the entire time until he completely left her sight.

"Something troubling you, Glynda?" Ozpin asked.

"I'm just worried about how he will act." Glynda stated.

"Well, if you are that concerned, tomorrow will be the initiation. You will get the chance to be able to see how well he does with a team. We shouldn't have anything to worry about." Ozpin reassured.

"I hope you're right." Goodwitch sighed out.

* * *

" _Well, all I have to do is keep an eye out for anything suspicious, so I guess for now, I'll just figure out who everyone is and go from there."_ Nemesis pondered as he was walking inside the hallway.

THUD

He had bumped into someone. More specifically, he had jumped into a young girl with white hair tied into a ponytail, blue eyes and a white dress and boots to go along with it.

"Watch where you going!" she shouted.

"Right..." Kuramoto said, nonchalantly as he began to walk away.

"Ugh...Can't a Schnee get any amount of respect around here!?" the girl cried out in frustration.

Nemesis stopped immediately after hearing those words. Rage had become to grow within him as he heard that name uttered. He started to walk back towards the self-acclaimed Schnee.

"Who did you say you were?" Nemesis stated in an unnerving tone.

"Weiss, Weiss Schnee." She replied, now nervous.

Before she had the chance to say anything else, she found herself slammed onto a nearby wall and the person she was talking to now had his hand at her throat.

Several of the students had heard the noise and came to investigate. Ruby and Yang were among them. Ruby was about to head to their direction when Yang grabbed onto her arm to stop her.

"Ruby, wait!"

"Why should I wait? What if does something to her!?"

"He won't." Yang explained. "He's literally in front of several students. Plus, if you do try to charge in like that, there's a chance that you may end up actually getting her hurt in the process."

Ruby seeing that Yang had a point, decided to stand down for now. She only hoped that this person wouldn't hurt her. They may have gotten off the wrong foot, but she still didn't want anything bad to happen to her.

"So, a Schnee has decided to make herself known, eh?" Nemesis said, glaring at Weiss.

"W-W-Who are you?" Weiss tried to get out, desperately trying to breathe.

"Me, oh nobody important. Just one of the many lives you and your little company has ruined, that's all." Nemesis sarcastically replied.

"Unlike the others, I plan to get even." Nemesis continued. "So, unless you wish to join the fate of the current heads of the Schnee Dust Company Weiss, stay out of my way."

With those words, Nemesis let go of Weiss and began to walk away. Weiss was still struggling to breathe. The other student were in shock as to what just happened.

"Are you ok?" Ruby asked, running towards Weiss.

"I don't need your help!" Weiss stated angrily, getting back up.

"Well well, already making enemies are we?"

Ruby and Weiss turned around to find that Sanria was there, behind them.

"And with him of all people as well. Quite the mess you've been caught up in, Schnee."

"And what's that supposed to mean!?" Weiss seethed out.

"You don't know?" Sanria said, incredulously. "That person is the one who had scored the overall highest points in the entrance exam. He even outclassed Pyrrha Nikos in the combat portion."

"What!?" Both Ruby and Weiss.

"That's impossible!" Weiss claimed. "There's no way he could possibly be that strong. I've never even seen or heard of him before."

"That's the big mystery." Sanria stated. "There are no known school records of any kind and despite that, he's one of the top scoring students so far. If nothing else, it just goes to show that not all of the best warriors are ones that the public is aware of."

Weiss just looked at the direction he went off towards with a hint of fear in her eyes.

" _If what she said is true, I have a feeling that things are going to only get even more difficult."_

* * *

 **Location: Beacon Academy, Ballroom**

It was now nighttime and many of the students were either getting ready for bed or were settling in for the night. Blake, Sanria and Eira were among the latter group, chatting with one another.

"That really happened?" Eira asked, giggling a little.

"Oh yeah, it was priceless seeing it. She was scrambling to get away from the water, after she managed to break free of her mom's grip, our parents had to search all over the house for her just to finally get her to take a bath."

"Can we please stop talking about this?" Blake begged, a small blush appearing on her face as she remember the past event.

Both Eira and Sanria laughed among themselves noticing Blake's reaction.

"So, you two really are childhood friends?" Eira asked.

"That's right. We known each other ever since we were kids. We played together all the time back when both were at Menagerie. Whether it would having fun at the beach or exploring the market area, there's wasn't much we didn't do together."

"We did spend a lot of time together." Blake said, looking nostalgic. "Those were...fun times."

"So...what about you, Eira? We you always blind or did something happen?" Sanria asked.

"Sanria, I don't think that's an approp-"

"It's ok, Blake." Eira dismissed. "I've always been like this ever since I was born. Admittedly, I personally never found it strange. Probably because not being able to see is natural to me. Besides, thanks to my ability to discern Auras and my enhanced senses, I really feel like I don't miss all that much anyway. "

"Yahoo! Do you guys have room for two more?"

The three of them looked to find that Yang was dragging alongside a very reluctant Ruby over to their group. Eira immediately felt pity for Ruby, knowing what it was like.

"Sure, I don't have a problem with that." Sanria answered.

The two of them sat down among the three of them.

"Don't be rude, Ruby, introduce yourself." Yang elbowed at Ruby.

"Hi, my name is Ruby." Ruby said.

"I'm Blake." "Sanria, nice to meet you, Ruby." "My name is Eira." Blake, Sanria and Eira all appropriately answered.

"So, do you guys know each other?" Ruby asked, seeing that the three of them were all talking together.

"These two do, I just met up with earlier today." Eira answered.

It was then that Ruby noticed the one unique thing about Eira, she thought at first it may have had some kind of sleep mask over her eyes, but now thinking about it.

"Wait, you're blind!?" Ruby said, incredulously.

Eira simply nodded.

"But how? How can you fight if you are not able to see your opponent?" Ruby asked.

"Make no mistake, Ruby." Eira stated. "Just because I cannot see doesn't mean I don't know you're there or don't know what moments you make."

"It's true. It turns out that Eira here can actually sense other people's Auras" Sanria added.

"Really? That's awesome! You gotta show me how to do that." Ruby replied.

"Maybe, perhaps after the initiation tomorrow and if we have time." Eira said happily.

"The Man with Two Souls? Ruby read out, noticing the book that was close by Blake.

"You've heard of that?" Blake questioned.

"Yeah, I used to read quite a bit back when I was a child." Ruby explained. "I really enjoyed fairy tales in particular, it's part of the reason why I decided to become a Huntress in the first place. To be like the many heroes that I always read about."

The others were surprised by Ruby's reasoning to become a Hunter and the conviction behind her statement.

"That's quite the goal." Blake said. "But this isn't a fairy tale that's bound to end in a happy ever after."

"She's right." Erin agreed. "Not all stories end happily. Do be careful not to set your expectations too high, or you'll just end up disappointing yourself when you inevitably fail."

"I know." Ruby stated. "But that's what our job as Huntress are. To make sure that as many stories as possible do end that way."

Once more, the others were surprised by Ruby's conviction. They were starting to see as to why she was allowed to attend the school despite being looking quite a bit younger than the rest of them. They only hoped that her abilities in combat could match her words.

They continued to chat for some time until eventually they decided to call it a night. Everyone in the room could hardly contain their excitement for the day that was to come.

 **Author Note: That's it for this chapter. Sorry about the late submission. I will be trying to stay within 2 to 3 week update intervals. Also, I do now have Discord up if you guys wish to chat. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed and I will see you guys on the next part. Author Author signing off!**

 **Discord Link: discord. gg/cxtjamr**


	5. Trial of Emerald Forest I

**Author Note:** **My apologies for being a tad bit late for the chapter. To be honest, I wasn't 100 percent certain with how I wanted to handle this particular part just yet. But now I managed to figure it out. Anyways, enjoy the new chapter.**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Sideswipe:** **Looks like you know what my** **main** **OC is all about.** **Respect for that.**

* * *

 ** **Time/Date:**** ** **Seven years from present day****

 ** **Location: Unk**** ** **n**** ** **own territory outside the Kingdom of Vale****

"Why can't I pick the weapon I want to be good at now?"

Nell was pouting at his mentor. He had finally managed to prove himself to be able to strong enough and competent enough to finally begin weapon training, but instead of allowing him to choose, he instead gave him a bostaff instead.

"Not until you learn how to become proficient with this." Roderick stated firmly.

"But why?" Nell complained. "These weapons won't do anything against Grimm or anyone else."

"Any weapon in the right hands can be a lethal tool." Roderick countered. "Besides, strength and lethality isn't everything in battle."

"Why not? All I have to do is just beat them into the ground and that will be it." Nell egostically declared.

"You may be stronger than what most are at your age. But make no mistake, brute strength can only carry you so far." Roderick explained. "For example, if someone is able to outmanuever you, then it won't matter how strong you are. They will just continue to just hit you until you run out of Aura, then what will you do?"

"I'll..." Nell started.

"You'll be dead." Roderick finished. "Any compenent opponent that knows they are outclassed in raw strength won't sit there and let you hit them. They will try to find an area you are weak at, whether it would be ranged combat or as I said, outmanuever you."

Nell simply looked down solemnly, starting to understand where Roderick was coming from.

"Look, I don't mean to be hurtful, but you need to know the truth." Roderick continued. "Combat isn't just some game to participate in. It's a very real life or death situation where one wrong move can get you killed. And you need more than just raw strength to survive, that's why I decided to start you with this bostaff first. To teach you how to fight when you can't take advantage of your strength."

"I-I understand." Nell said, composing himself.

"Well then, shall we get started?"

"Huh? Now?" Nell asked.

The only answer he got back was a swing of a practice sword that Nell quickly had to dodge. Nell quickly positioned himself in order to defend himself from the next attack.

* * *

 ** **Time/Date:**** ** **2**** ** **nd**** ** **day of Beacon Academy****

 ** **Location:**** ** **Ballroom****

Nemesis woke up a at around dawn with his dream still firmly within his mind. He remembered that day that he dreamt of quite well. Looking at it now, it really seemed childish. It was ironic that the bostaff would eventually become the very first advanced weapon that he built with his own two hands. On top of being a weapon that he got used to, it also served as something of a memento. A means of being able to remember his mentor, to who he owed everything to.

...

" _Damn it...I really need to stop doing that...staying in the past like this is just going to hold me back... I should get up. I still a few hours before the intiation starts. Maybe I should explore the school. I just might find a_ _place to_ _train bypass the time."_ Nemsis chaisted himself.

Nemesis left the ballroom in order to stretch out and see if there was anywhere to get some practice in before the intiation today.

About ten minutes of exploring, he found the school's training room. He wasted no time, pulling out Obsidian Chimera and putting it into its bostaff mode.. He began to practice his strikes and swings. Due to the unique nature of his weapon, he has a self made fighting style that combines moves with both polearm and staff fightnig to make a verstaile, efficent and deadly style that will serve him well whether he would be fighting humans or otherwise.

It didn't take long for Nemesis to enter what he personally calls a battle trance. A state of mind where he blocks out all emotions and thoughts that are not connected to the immediate battle and puts his entire focus on the fight and his surroundings. To the trained combatant, the strikes that Nemesis was performing was incredible, if not terrifying. Each strike that he landed on a mechanical mannequian were well beyond the threshold necessary to kill someone just by the raw power of the impact alone, but the precision behind them would shock any fighter. He was accurately hitting all the limbs, artieries and any other locations that would render an opponenteither dead or incapitated. It was a deadly duo of power and techinque that would put him leagues above the majority of fighters of his age group. Nemesis made one last strike which was enough to create a shockwave before he decided to address the onlooker that came in while he was training.

"Do you plan on standing there or what?" Nemesis said before turning around to see who was observing him.

This person was a girl with green eyes and red hair tied in a ponytail. She was one of the few people that Nemesis has come across so far that was wearing armor. Bronze colored greaves and a single similar covered bracer. She also looked to have a sword and shield behind her back.

"Oh. I'm sorry." She said, caught off guard by being suddenly addressed. "I wasn't expecting anyone else to be hear this early. Plus, I've never seen someone handle a staff as well as you."

Nemesis decided to just shrug, seeing that she didn't appearing to be lying.

"I suppose it's to be expected. I have been training for far longer than most people would so I guess it would reflect on my overall skill." Nemesis said in an almost non chalant manner.

The girl looked at Nemesis with a bit of surprise. He was quite a bit like her. Despite being very skilled, he didn't appear tobe the type of person who didn't go around showing off about it. Furthermore, most people would have recognized her and acted accordingly. Either he didn't recognize her or he didn't care.

"May I ask what you name is?" The girl asked.

"It's Nemesis."

" _So he's the one that everyone's been going nuts about? The one whose's combat entrance score was even higher than mine?"_ The girl thought to herself.

"What about you?" Nemesis inquired.

"Oh...it's Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos." Pyrrha replied.

"I see. If that's the caes, then you must be the one everyone's been freaking out about." Nemesis stated.

"Huh?"

"Apparently, quite a few people have been going nuts over the fact that you are attending the school. Also, I did overhear a few times some whispers about how absurd it was that I somehow got the better combat score." Nemesis answered in the same dismissive tone.

"I see." Pyrrha responded. She honestly wasn't sure how to respond. This was the first time in a very long time that someone within her age range had addressed her in a casual manner. Despite the rather dimissive tone he carried, it still felt like it was a nice change.

"Well, if you don't mind, Pyrrha. I'm going to get back to training." Nemesis broke her train of thought.

"On, right." Pyrrha said, remembering why she came her in the first place. She pulled out her sword and shield and made her way over to a few of the mechanical mannequians as well, determined to get some practice in before the intiation later that day.

* * *

 ** **A few hours later...****

The others started to wake up one by one. As they did, most of them went to the cafeteria to go and grab some breakfast. It was relatively peaceful morning.

"-We've been friends for soooooo long. What are the odds that we'd still be together? Well, not "together" together. Not that I'm saying you're not handsome! You are handsome, but that'd just be weird... Right?"

Except for one individual in particular. An orange haired girl with aqua blue eye girl clothed in a black vest, white sleeveless shirt and a pink shirthas been talking almost non stop ever since she woke up. With her was a guy with black hair and purple eyes, dressed in a green tailcoat and light tan pants. He just seemed to be just going about eating his food while almost completely ignoring the chatterbox next to him.

"She seems to be awfully cheery this morning. If I couldn't tell that this was something that guy she's been talkingto isn't really bothered by this, I'd almost feel bad for him." Eira said, shaking her head.

"Yeah...I agree." Sanria replied in an exhausted tone.

"You okay?" Eira asked. "You feel exhausted."

"Yeah. Don't worry about, it's just my semblance." Sanria answered.

"Semblance?" Eira repeated, tilting her head.

"Mhm. During the day, without using Dust, I become weak and tired." Sanria explained, trying not to yawn.

"So, its a nocturnal based semblance?"

"Correct. At night...I lose the fatigue and weakness and gain a huge boost in physical attributes and senses."

"Sounds rough." Eira commented.

"Yeah it can be." Sanria yawned out. "I'm just glad I managed to find a way how to counteract it so I can actually attend this school."

"How so?"

" _Oh right. She can't see them."_ Sanria remembered. "These gaunlets have Dust that I can readily use to help counter the effect like so." Sanria declared, activating her gaunlets.

The orb in her gaunlets began to glow once again and Sanria's vitality had returned almost immediately.

"Woah. Your fatigue just vanished." Eira replied shocked.

"Yep. I can channel the Dust within these babies and can overcome the problem for a time. However, I can only realistically use it for about two hours before the enitre Dust supply I typically carry is used up entirely."

"So, you have to use it wisely then."

"Correct." Sanria said, deactivating her gaunlets and letting her fatigue return to her.

Seeing that she was in little condition to continue talking, Eira decided to leave it at that and continuing eating breakfast quietly.

* * *

With breakfast finished, everyone headed out to grab their gear from their lockers and proceeded to head out towards the designated meeting point for the initiation. They were all lined up on platform with a straight line with both professors Ozpin and Goodwitch in front of them, ready to explain to them the initiation.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors." Ozpin said, looking amongst the group of 16 students. He was calm and composed as he always has been whenever in the presence of others. "And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

"Now," Glynda spoke stepping to his side, "I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... Today."

The students looked among themselves. Some joyful with the idea of getting their teammates or possibly being with people that they want to be. Others with worry that they will be stuck with people that they won't like.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon." Ozpin stated. "So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

Nemesis simply shrugged. Why should he be concerned with who he decides to team up with? After all, unlike the rest of the students, he wasn't here to become a Huntsmen. The only reason he was here because the ones addressing the group were paying to be.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin concluded.

And with that single sentence, many students' hopes of getting the teammates that they desired were shattered like glass.

"After you've partnered up," Ozpin continued, "make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." He looked along as one student in particular raised his hand at this. "Yes, Nemesis?"

"Just to clear the air, what exactly do you mean by opposition?" Depending on Ozpin's answer could potentially change the approach that he and other students would end up taking to complete this task.

"The Grimm." He clarified.

Not too surprisingly, the majority of students before him glanced at one another with at least a little bit of unease. Ozpin was confident in their fighting abilities, but the students' fear was understandable. Not many of them have much experience in fighting Grimm and now they were about to jump head first into a forest crawling with them. Even the staff would think twice about exploring the woods on their own for any extended period of time.

The reactions of course did vary among the individuals. Those will less confidence in their abilities like Jaune gulped nervously, those who had more confidence like Ruby and Xander beamed, the battle fanatic types like Yang and Sanria cracked their fists in excitement, others like Eira, Weiss and Pyrrha stood at the ready. Regardless of the reactions varied, but the goal was clear to them.

Complete the objective, or perish trying.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation." He added. "But our instructors will not intervene."

Nemesis internally cursed at his luck. While it was good they wouldn't intervene, the last thing that he needed for all the staff to be made aware of the nature of his semblance. Which means, he will have to be much more cautious if he comes across any uncommon Grimm.

"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item as well as your performance, and grade you accordingly. Are there any more questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir-" Jaune tried to speak, raising his hand.

"Good." Ozpin replied, ignoring it completely. "Now, take your positions."

None of them hesitated. Each of them had their weapons at the ready.

Except for Jaune who continued to raise his hand.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um, a question." He tried again.

 _*Creak*_

With the large creaking sound, Nemesis was flung into the air from the platform. From the eyers of the others, he was flown a considerable distance before he started to position himself to glide along as he made his way into the forest.

 _*Creak*_

 _The next student was launched from the platform to the forest._

"So, this landing strategy-"

 _*Creak*_

 _Another student was launched._

"-thing, uh, w-what is it?"

Blake was the next person to be thrown into the air.

"You're, like, dropping us off or something?"

 _*CREAK*_

And with that Ruby was thrown into the air, towards the seemingly endless forest filled to the brim with Grimm.

"No." Ozpin replied calmly. "You will be falling."

 _*Creak*_

"Whoohooooo!" Nora cheered as she flew.

"Oh, I see. So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune wondered.

 _*Creak*_

"No, you will be using your own landing strategy." He informed.

 _*Creak*_

"Uhhuh... Yeah..." Jaune mumbled looking around.

 _*Creak*_

"So, um, what exactly is a landing strateGYYYYYY!" He screamed as he was thrown.

And with the last student gone, Ozpin looked towards the forest where his students were launched, taking an occasional sip of his drink that he almost always seemed to have on him, curious as to how they would do.

* * *

Sanria had managed to touch down without any serious issues. She was now trying to find her way through to the relics within the deep forest. Trying her best to remain awake and aware, she was stumbling her way through the forest.

" _Damn...it's really hard to concentrate with his exhaustion and I can't exactly frivolously use my Dust to compensate for it. If I run out of it, I'll really be in trouble if I don't find a partner that can watch my back."_

She continued her trail for about 200 meters, mumbling over her lack of energy and the big disadvantage she was at. Her complaints were interrupted when she heard a sound coming from the bushes and through them four Ursa and eight Beowolves had emerged surrounded her and were ready to pounce at her.

" _Aw...hell. Looks like I've got no choice."_

Sanria activated her gauntlets once more. One major difference is that this time, the there was a light that began to glow around the palm of her had for a moment before it expanded, taking a shape of a halberd.

The Grimm wasted in charging forward. Sanria bolted towards the northwest and slashed through the first beowolf. Thr first Ursa only just had enough time to attempt to claw at Sanria before it was impaled by the halberd. Another beowolf was ready to pounce at Sanria as the Ursa was impaled. Just as Sanria was about to take a hit, an arrow had pierced right through the back of the beowolf's head right through the left eye, dying almost instantly. Sanria moved out of the way of the still moving beowolf's corpse and removed her halberd from Ursa and briefly saw who it was that shot the arrow.

While Sanria had yet to meet the individual, those who have would have recognized him as Xander. He had knocked and fired another arrow at a speed not thought to be possible. The arrow, going at speeds comparable to a bullet, had pierced yet another beowolf right in an eye socket.

The Grimm now realizing that there were two people had split themselves up to try and kill them both. Xander had lauched two more arrows, dropping two more beowolves before they could get within melee distance. Xander had to dodge a third beowolf that got too close. He ran towards one of the Ursa and had jumped on it before it had a chance to do anything and leaped into the air. Xander had turned around and hastily knocked another arrow, this one had a light blue arrowhead. He fired it and once it went through the Ursa's neck, ice had formed, completely surrounding said Ursa in a block of ice. Just before Xander landed, he fired an arrow that had a bright orange arrowhead towards the beowolf that tried to attack him a few seconds ago. The arrow upon hitting its target after a moment had created an explosive eruption, ending the beowolf.

Sanria seeing that Xander had pulled away several of the Grimm, pulled her halberd out of the Ursa and swiftly cut down a second beowolf. Two more beowolves were coming at her with the hope of getting a pincer attack in. Sanria jammed her halberd right through the first one, then took it out and cleaved the other that was behind her.

"Heads up!" Sanria heard Xander yell.

Sanria turned to find that the last two Ursa were heading straight for her. She prepared to intercept them both. However, the first one was suddenly pushed forward and was now almost flying towards her. Xander had shot one last arrow that had a dark purple almost black arrowhead. As soon as it hit the Ursa, said Ursa was sent forward flying towards Sanria. Seeing the window of opportunity, Sanria went ahead and horizontally cleaved through the Ursa. The Ursa made one last lunge forward to try and slay the Faunus, but before it close enough to try and attack, Sanria had swing down the halberd, splitting open the Ursa skull.

With the fight now over, Sanria had deactivated her gauntlets and she fell to her knees , still holding onto her halberd.

"Are you alright?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired is all. Thanks for the assist." Sanria answered.

"No problem. Do you need a hand?." Xander brought up.

"No, I can walk." Sanria replied, getting back up. "But could you please take the lead? I can restore myself to fighting condition with my gaunlets but, that will only last as long as my Dust supply."

"Oh, um. Sure. Fortunately, wilderness navigation is my forte, so it shouldn't be an issue and I did catch a glimpse of a clearing that a bit up north ." Xander said.

"Well then, let's get going, I'd prefer not to stay in forest any longer what I need to." Sanria responded.

* * *

Eira so far as been just going straight ahead from where she had landed ever since he managed to safely land within the forest. It was time to resort to some of her own abilities to try and find her way to the relics or otherwise find a partner that could assist with that.

" _Damn. I think everyone is currently out of range for me to be able to sense them._ _Looks like I'll have to make use of some of my abilities."_

The symbols on Eira's blindfold and obi began to glow and snow had formed around Eira. Once it had began to surround her, the snow began to disperse, heading in every direction.

" _Good, once I find a lone individual, I can go ahead and team up with them...huh?"_

Eira's thoughts were interrupted as someone stepped within range of her senses. They were coming in fast and she immediately turned sour, recognizing how they were. They stepped out from the trees and they smiled, recognizing Eira. It was the two named bullies that Eira had met on the first day

"Well, well, what do we have here. A little blind girl lost in the forest?" Cardin mocked.

"Indeed, I've heard the forest is quite dangerous due to the Grimm that inhabit it." Russell continued. "It'd be quite a shame if a student got themselves hurt on the first day."

"What do you two want?" Eira said, turning around. Not even bothering to look in their general direction.

"Simply, you hurt me and I intend to pay you back in spades." Cardin said, cracking his knuckles. "And this time, none of the teachers are going to save you."

Both Cardin and Russell began to move towards Eira in an attempt to get back at her. She just simply sighed shaking her head.

"I don't have time for this." Eira said dismissively, doing a few quick hand motions.

Before either of the two could get within striking distance of Eira, they both felt freezing from the waist down. It look a second to realize that both of them had the lower bodies frozen into a block of ice.

"What the-" Cardin said, shocked.

"I can't move." Russell stated, trying to break free.

" _That outta hold them for a bit."_ Eira thought to herself. _"Huh?"_ Eira turned her head around the northeast. She felt something with the snow that she summoned earlier. To be more accurate, she felt someone. Someone else that she recognized. She immediately turned tail and took off in a sprint to that direction, leaving both Cardin and Russell trapped within the ice.

"Hey! Get back here!"

"Get us out of this ice!"

The two of them continued to struggle until they heard a noise come from behind them. They both turned towards the noise to find that a couple of beowolves were closing in. Their eyes longing to end the trapped Huntsmen in front of them. Only one phrase ran through both of their minds.

" _Oh...shit!"_

* * *

" _Well, this was quite a bit easier than what I thought."_

Nemesis had managed to make his way through the forest and all the way to the relics with surprising little resistance. He did encounter a handful of stray Grimm along the way, but they were pretty easily dispatched. Even more surprising is that he has yet to encounter anyone and he was the first person to make it to the clearing that contained the relics. It was easy to recognize due to the relics in question being chess pieces and being easy to tell that they were placed there recently. He himself had take the yellow queen.

" _I guess all I have to do now is get back to the cliff where we first met. After that, I can just wait for the person who doesn't have a partner yet to pair up with me."_

As Nemesis was hastily sprinting his way back to the cliff side, he was forced to move out of the way as a Boarbatusk rolled into his path. Nemesis got his barings back and had realized that the Boarbatusk wasn't alone. Quite a few more Boarbatusks as well as Ursa and Beowolves began to reveal themselves.

" _Sigh. It never can be simple for once, can it?"_ Nemesis interally lamented.

He took out Obsidian Chimera and turned it into its bostaff mode.

"You're in my way. Move!" Nemesis declared as he sprinted towards the incoming Grimm, hellbent on cutting down any of them that would get in the way of his objective **.**

 **Author Note: That's it this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed and I will see you guys on the next part. Author Author signing off!**


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